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 North Somerset: 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).

20203030404050506060707080809090Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected % (from the school's pupils)Actual % meeting the expected standard1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344454647484950515253545556
20203030404050506060707080809090Better than expectedBelow expectedExpected %Actual % meeting the expected standard1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344454647484950515253545556

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 Tickenham Church of England Primary School Well above 86% 66% +20.2 19% 13% 0% 42 8%
2 Birdwell Primary School Well above 81% 69% +12.1 11% 10% 7% 170 11%below average
3 Winscombe Primary School Well above 77% 65% +12.0 14% 21% 0% 90 10%
4 Oldmixon Primary School Above 69% 58% +11.3 53% 20% 23% 87 25%
5 St Peter's Church of England Primary School Well above 79% 68% +11.2 6% 20% 9% 263 15%above average
6 Court-De-Wyck Church School Above 67% 59% +7.7 33% 29% 10% 60 20%
7 Uphill Village Academy Above 69% 62% +7.4 16% 33% 0% 135 8%low
8 Blagdon Primary School Above 70% 63% +7.3 33% 17% 17% 47 24%
9 St Nicholas Chantry Church of England Primary School Above 75% 68% +6.7 2% 20% 2% 157 18%above average
10 Yeo Moor Primary School Above 72% 66% +6.5 21% 13% 2% 155 21%high
11 Dundry Church of England Primary School Above 68% 62% +5.8 27% 20% 0% 38 19%
12 Worle Village Primary School Above 68% 62% +5.8 30% 17% 0% 94 11%
13 High Down Junior School Above 73% 68% +5.1 13% 12% 6% 255 12%below average
14 All Saints Church of England Primary School As expected 68% 64% +4.2 13% 27% 0% 47 12%
15 Grove Junior School As expected 70% 67% +3.3 10% 20% 7% 175 23%
16 St Andrew's CofE Primary School As expected 71% 68% +3.0 17% 7% 3% 73 20%
17 Churchill Church of England Primary School As expected 71% 68% +2.8 18% 4% 0% 92 2%
18 St Francis Catholic Primary School As expected 73% 70% +2.6 7% 14% 28% 78 24%
19 Northleaze Church of England Primary School As expected 73% 71% +2.4 4% 8% 0% 78 30%
20 Herons' Moor Academy As expected 69% 67% +2.1 20% 13% 18% 180 12%below average
21 St Anne's Church Academy As expected 69% 67% +2.1 17% 13% 8% 172 7%low
22 Wrington Church of England Primary School As expected 64% 62% +2.0 32% 18% 7% 87 15%
23 Portishead Primary School As expected 68% 66% +1.6 16% 16% 9% 179 14%below average
24 Sandford Primary School As expected 70% 68% +1.6 13% 8% 0% 70 10%
25 Golden Valley Primary School As expected 70% 71% −1.1 7% 5% 7% 179 24%high
26 St Mark's Ecumenical Anglican/Methodist Primary School As expected 67% 68% −1.2 14% 9% 3% 188 8%low
27 St John the Evangelist Church School As expected 64% 66% −1.5 8% 25% 0% 126 14%above average
28 Flax Bourton Church of England Primary School As expected 66% 68% −1.7 8% 16% 0% 83 35%
29 Haywood Village Academy As expected 65% 67% −1.7 18% 17% 22% 180 15%above average
30 St Martin's Church of England Primary School As expected 61% 63% −1.9 28% 21% 16% 195 15%above average
31 Burrington Church of England Primary School As expected 58% 61% −3.4 10% 40% 0% 31 10%
32 Worlebury St Pauls Church School As expected 61% 64% −3.4 24% 17% 10% 83 7%
33 Backwell Church of England Junior School As expected 67% 71% −4.0 2% 9% 2% 177 14%
34 Becket Primary School Below 53% 58% −5.1 47% 22% 16% 91 18%
35 St Georges Church School Below 53% 59% −5.6 27% 37% 7% 90 20%
36 Castle Batch Primary School Academy Below 57% 63% −6.2 18% 26% 5% 183 10%below average
37 Locking Primary School Below 54% 61% −6.5 33% 23% 7% 140 11%below average
38 Mendip Green Primary School Below 55% 62% −7.0 26% 23% 4% 275 9%low
39 Ashcombe Primary School Below 53% 61% −7.8 40% 17% 13% 268 9%low
40 Christ Church Church of England Primary School Below 53% 61% −8.4 33% 27% 33% 88 15%
41 Mary Elton Primary School Below 57% 66% −8.8 21% 13% 6% 161 27%high
42 Trinity Anglican-Methodist Primary School Below 62% 71% −9.0 5% 10% 16% 182 12%below average
43 St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Portbury Below 62% 71% −9.2 14% 0% 14% 34 13%
44 Banwell Primary School Below 51% 61% −10.1 12% 41% 6% 61 30%
45 Hutton Church of England Primary School Below 50% 62% −11.5 28% 22% 0% 96 30%
46 Wraxall Church of England Primary School Below 61% 73% −11.7 9% 0% 18% 33 16%
47 Milton Park Primary School Well below 51% 64% −12.6 32% 13% 13% 168 21%high
48 Yatton Church of England Junior School Compared Well below 55% 68% −13.2 11% 12% 4% 260 17%above average
49 Kingshill Church School Well below 41% 57% −15.8 37% 37% 16% 61 36%
50 Mead Vale Community Primary School Well below 49% 66% −17.3 27% 7% 13% 122 13%below average
51 Winford Church of England Primary School Well below 52% 70% −18.3 3% 10% 0% 89 30%
52 Bournville Primary School Well below 30% 49% −18.5 59% 49% 14% 173 20%high
53 Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School Well below 51% 71% −20.0 14% 10% 45% 88 13%
54 Crockerne Church of England Primary School Well below 42% 62% −20.2 26% 21% 0% 125 25%high
55 Walliscote Primary School Well below 38% 60% −21.8 49% 20% 40% 115 16%above average
56 Windwhistle Primary School Well below 31% 55% −24.1 52% 30% 18% 127 34%high

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.