School Context Comparator

Exam results say a lot about a school's pupils, not just its teaching. A school where many children are disadvantaged or have special educational needs will usually have lower results, even if it's doing a great job. This compares each school with what you'd expect from the pupils it teaches.

Primary and junior schools in Hackney: SATs results in context

% meeting the expected standard, average of the three years to 2024/25. Each numbered dot is a school (see the table below). Above the line means better results than you'd expect from its pupils; the shaded strip is "about what you'd expect".

  • Better than expected
  • About as expected
  • Below expected

The faint grey dots behind are every other school in England, for comparison.

Outlined in black: the school you compared (marked "Compared" in the table).

Green ring: low teacher turnover – among the quarter of similar schools in England where teachers are most likely to stay (three-year average).

404050506060707080809090100100Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected % (from the school's pupils)Actual % meeting the expected standard1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344454647484950
404050506060707080809090100100Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected %Actual % meeting the expected standard1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344454647484950

Loading stats for 13,485 schools across England…

Did you know? In a class of 30, one child moves a school's SATs percentage by more than 3 points - which is why we use a three-year average. How this works

How each school compares

# School Compared with what you'd expect Actual Expected Gap Disadvantaged SEN EAL Pupils(3 years) Teacher turnover(a year)
1 Hoxton Garden Primary Well above 86% 53% +32.6 66% 30% 41% 134 19%above average
2 Simon Marks Jewish Primary School Well above 93% 63% +30.3 40% 20% 50% 40 2%
3 Grazebrook Primary School Well above 88% 58% +30.0 39% 39% 46% 168 39%high
4 Southwold Primary School Well above 90% 60% +29.9 51% 23% 60% 138 25%high
5 St John of Jerusalem Church of England Primary School Well above 80% 52% +27.7 68% 29% 29% 59 8%
6 Thomas Fairchild Community School Well above 72% 46% +26.0 83% 45% 45% 88 36%
7 Mandeville Primary School Well above 79% 54% +25.2 81% 22% 68% 119 21%high
8 Hackney New Primary School Well above 84% 59% +24.7 48% 27% 52% 136 13%below average
9 Gayhurst Community School Well above 85% 62% +23.0 32% 27% 38% 213 19%above average
10 Orchard Primary School Well above 80% 57% +23.0 47% 35% 44% 244 24%high
11 Princess May Primary School Well above 80% 58% +22.5 67% 23% 77% 107 34%high
12 The Olive School, Hackney Compared Well above 84% 62% +21.9 47% 16% 51% 259 16%above average
13 Kingsmead Primary School Well above 82% 61% +20.9 56% 15% 63% 85 24%high
14 St. Paul's With St. Michael's CofE Primary School Well above 77% 56% +20.8 73% 9% 32% 69 12%below average
15 Northwold Primary School Well above 80% 61% +19.2 57% 19% 76% 136 23%high
16 Morningside Primary School Well above 71% 52% +18.8 68% 36% 50% 164 26%high
17 Mossbourne Parkside Academy Well above 76% 57% +18.8 67% 24% 76% 173 43%high
18 Mossbourne Riverside Academy Well above 84% 65% +18.8 29% 13% 25% 204 21%high
19 Benthal Primary School Well above 68% 50% +18.2 69% 46% 54% 112 24%high
20 St Scholastica's Catholic Primary School Well above 70% 52% +18.0 78% 30% 61% 77 8%low
21 St Matthias Church of England Primary School Well above 65% 48% +17.5 95% 30% 55% 72 23%
22 William Patten Primary School Well above 84% 67% +17.5 22% 22% 50% 177 9%low
23 Rushmore Primary School Well above 77% 60% +17.4 30% 34% 21% 170 10%below average
24 St John and St James CofE Primary School Well above 74% 58% +16.2 66% 10% 34% 89 17%above average
25 Sebright School Well above 73% 57% +16.0 59% 27% 57% 165 13%below average
26 Grasmere Primary School Well above 78% 62% +15.8 38% 19% 33% 73 27%high
27 Queensbridge Primary School Well above 73% 57% +15.6 50% 31% 46% 157 18%above average
28 Our Lady and St Joseph Catholic Primary School Well above 77% 63% +14.2 39% 16% 35% 90 13%below average
29 Lubavitch Girls Primary School Well above 77% 63% +13.9 20% 33% 33% 43 16%
30 St John the Baptist Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School Well above 69% 55% +13.9 68% 25% 54% 124 28%high
31 St Monica's Catholic Primary School Well above 80% 67% +12.9 48% 4% 83% 76 41%
32 Harrington Hill Primary School Well above 74% 61% +12.8 52% 14% 48% 88 19%above average
33 Shoreditch Park Primary School Well above 64% 52% +12.3 69% 31% 30% 152 39%high
34 Halley House School Well above 63% 51% +12.2 78% 24% 24% 82 26%high
35 Betty Layward Primary School Well above 78% 66% +11.9 17% 21% 24% 171 14%below average
36 Jubilee Primary School Well above 75% 63% +11.6 30% 25% 43% 161 12%below average
37 Millfields Community School Above 70% 59% +11.0 35% 40% 50% 256 16%above average
38 Berger Primary School Above 67% 56% +10.7 63% 24% 51% 165 8%low
39 London Fields Primary School Above 71% 60% +10.6 30% 38% 45% 161 22%high
40 Daubeney Primary School Above 72% 62% +10.4 46% 15% 37% 196 13%below average
41 Woodberry Down Community Primary School Above 66% 57% +8.9 65% 21% 58% 250 29%high
42 Gainsborough Primary School Above 59% 50% +8.6 70% 39% 43% 75 31%high
43 Shacklewell Primary School Above 70% 62% +8.3 46% 18% 49% 172 47%high
44 Nightingale Primary School Above 61% 53% +8.0 63% 33% 35% 101 8%low
45 Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School Above 64% 58% +5.6 53% 25% 50% 85 35%high
46 Lauriston School Above 71% 66% +5.3 25% 15% 25% 163 14%below average
47 Springfield Community Primary School As expected 68% 66% +1.8 38% 14% 71% 74 34%high
48 Parkwood Primary School As expected 59% 59% +0.1 36% 45% 68% 76 6%low
49 Holmleigh Primary School As expected 62% 63% −0.7 45% 21% 69% 82 18%above average
50 Lubavitch Boys' Primary School Well below 44% 67% −23.4 15% 15% 15% 50 25%

Results are the average of the last three Year 6 groups, which is steadier than a single year. Pupil percentages are for the latest Year 6. Disadvantaged: eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years, or looked after by the council. SEN: special educational needs (SEN support or an EHC plan). EAL: English as an additional language.

How this works

We looked at every comparable state primary and junior school in England (14,315 schools) to see how SATs results usually change with the make-up of a year group. On average:

  • For every 10 more disadvantaged pupils in every 100, the share meeting the expected standard is about 2.4 percentage points lower.
  • For every 10 more pupils with SEN in every 100, it's about 2.4 percentage points lower.
  • For every 10 more pupils with English as an additional language in every 100, it's about 0.7 percentage points higher. Pupils learning English often catch up quickly.

From those, each school gets an expected result for its own pupils, which we compare with its actual result. Primary year groups are small – in a class of 30, one child moves the percentage by more than 3 points – so we use the three-year average and allow for each school's own pupil numbers: a small school needs a bigger gap before we call it above or below what you'd expect.

What we found: schools where teachers stay

We put every primary and junior school's result-against-expected next to its teacher turnover – the share of its teachers who moved to another school or left state schools each year, averaged over three years (DfE school workforce census). Across 8,274 schools in England, split into four equal groups by turnover:

Teacher turnoverTypical turnoverResults vs expectedDid better than expected
Lowest turnover 7% a year +1.8 pts 40%
Lower-middle 12% a year +1.2 pts 37%
Upper-middle 17% a year +0.7 pts 36%
Highest turnover 26% a year −1.2 pts 32%

The pattern is the same as for secondary schools but weaker, and most of the difference is in the quarter of schools where teachers leave most often (−1.2 percentage points, against +1.8 for the lowest-turnover quarter). Primary staffs are small and SATs results move around from year to year, which blurs the picture.

A link isn't proof that one causes the other: losing teachers may hold results back, and a school that's struggling for other reasons (leadership, for example) may also lose more teachers. Nationally, turnover is fairly steady from year to year and teachers who move are replaced – but between schools it varies a lot, from under one teacher in ten a year to more than one in five. The green rings on the chart mark the lowest-turnover quarter.

What it can't tell you

  • These three things explain only about 18% of the differences between schools. Much of what makes a school stronger or weaker, and much about its pupils, isn't captured by any published figure.
  • Even averaged over three years, small schools' results move around a lot, so treat close calls as roughly equal.
  • It isn't an excuse for lower results. It shows how a school does compared with schools teaching similar pupils, so you can compare more fairly.
  • We deliberately don't adjust for attendance or exclusions: those are partly down to the school itself.

Source: Department for Education, Key Stage 2 performance data (2024/25). Calculated by The School Companion.