Our Data Explained

Our Coverage

SchoolWize covers over 24,000 state and independent schools across England. This includes primary schools, secondary schools, special schools, pupil referral units, and sixth-form colleges. Our data is sourced exclusively from official government publications.

We aim to include every school in England for which the Department for Education publishes performance data. If a school is missing from our database, it is likely because no published data is available for it.

Data Sources

All data on SchoolWize comes from official, publicly available government sources. We do not collect data ourselves. Below is a summary of every source we use.

Understanding KS2 SATs Results

Key Stage 2 (KS2) tests are taken by pupils at the end of Year 6 (age 11), typically in English reading, English grammar/punctuation/spelling, and maths. Here is what each metric means.

Expected Standard (%)

This is the percentage of pupils who achieved the “expected standard” in their tests. A pupil meets the expected standard if they score 100 or more on the scaled score. For example, if a school shows 75% in reading, it means 75% of eligible pupils scored 100 or above. The national average is typically around 60–65%, so a school above 65% is performing above average nationally.

Higher Standard (%)

This is the percentage of pupils who achieved a “higher standard” — a scaled score of 110 or above. This represents the top-performing pupils. If a school shows 15% at higher standard in maths, roughly 15% of pupils scored significantly above expectations. Nationally, around 15–20% of pupils reach this standard.

Average Scaled Score

KS2 test results are converted to scaled scores ranging from 80 to 120, where 100 is the expected standard. The average scaled score tells you the typical score for pupils at the school. A score of 105 means the average pupil is performing above the expected level. The national average is usually around 104–105.

Progress Scores (Reading, Writing, Maths)

Progress scores measure how much progress pupils make between KS1 (age 7) and KS2 (age 11), compared to pupils with similar starting points across the country. A progress score of 0means pupils make average progress — exactly in line with national expectations.

A positive score (e.g. +2.5) means pupils made more progress than expected. A negative score (e.g. -1.8) means they made less progress than expected. A score between -1 and +1 is broadly average. Scores beyond +3 or below -3 represent notably strong or weak progress.

Understanding KS4 (GCSE) Results

Key Stage 4 (KS4) covers pupils in Years 10 and 11 (ages 14–16). GCSEs are now graded 9 to 1, where 9 is the highest and 1 is the lowest. A grade 4 is a “standard pass” and a grade 5 is a “strong pass”. The old A*–G system was replaced in 2017.

Attainment 8

Attainment 8 measures the average achievement of pupils across 8 qualified subjects. It includes English and maths (double-weighted), three subjects from the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) suite, and three further qualifications. The maximum score is 90. A typical score for a high-performing school might be 55–60. Nationally, the average is around 46–48.

Progress 8

Progress 8 shows how much progress pupils make between KS2 and KS4, compared to pupils with similar prior attainment. A score of 0 means pupils make exactly the progress expected. A score of +0.5 means pupils score half a grade higher per subject than expected. A score of -0.5 means half a grade lower.

The government considers a score above +0.5 to be “well above average”, between +0.5 and 0 as “above average”, between 0 and -0.5 as “below average”, and below -0.5 as “well below average”.

EBacc Entries

The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) is a set of core subjects: English, maths, science, a language, and either history or geography. The EBacc entry percentage shows how many pupils at the school take GCSEs in all of these subjects. A higher percentage suggests a broad academic curriculum. The national average is around 40%.

Basics (Grade 4+ and 5+ in English & Maths)

This shows the percentage of pupils who achieved at least a grade 4 (or 5) in both English and maths GCSE. It is one of the most widely quoted measures. Nationally, around 65% of pupils achieve grade 4+ in both, and around 50% achieve grade 5+ in both.

Subject-Level Grade Distributions (9–1)

SchoolWize shows the full breakdown of GCSE grades for individual subjects where available. This means you can see what percentage of pupils got a grade 9, 8, 7, and so on. This is far more useful than a single average — it reveals whether a school has a small group of high achievers or a broad spread of good results.

Understanding KS5 (A-Level/BTEC) Results

Key Stage 5 covers students in Years 12 and 13 (ages 16–18), typically studying A-Levels, BTECs, or other vocational qualifications.

Average Point Score (APS) per Entry

Each A-Level grade is assigned a points value (A*=60, A=50, B=40, C=30, D=20, E=10). The APS per entry is the average points score across all qualifications taken. An APS of 35 (roughly a B/C average) is around the national mean. Higher scores indicate higher average grades.

Value Added Scores

Similar to Progress 8 at KS4, value added scores compare students' KS5 results with what would be expected based on their GCSE results. A score of 0means performance is in line with expectations. Positive means students did better than expected; negative means they did worse. The confidence intervals matter here — if the lower bound is still above 0, the positive score is statistically significant.

Best 3 A-Levels APS

This measures the average point score across a student's best three A-Level results. It focuses on A-Level qualifications specifically, excluding BTECs and other vocational qualifications. This is useful when comparing schools that offer different qualification mixes.

AAB% in Facilitating Subjects

This shows the percentage of A-Level students who achieved at least AAB in at least two facilitating subjects. Facilitating subjects are those most commonly required by selective universities: maths, further maths, English literature, physics, biology, chemistry, geography, history, and languages. A higher percentage suggests strong academic outcomes for university-bound students.

Retention Rates

The retention rate shows what percentage of students who started a KS5 programme completed it to the end. A low retention rate could indicate students leaving for other opportunities, but it could also signal dissatisfaction or inadequate support. Most schools have retention rates above 90%.

SEN Data Explained

Special Educational Needs (SEN) data on SchoolWize is whole-school data, sourced from the GIAS (Get Information About Schools) register. It covers all pupilsat the school across every year group — not just those in a particular key stage or exam cohort. This gives you the complete picture of a school's SEN provision, not a subset.

EHCP (%)

An Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) is a legal document for children and young people (up to age 25) who need more support than is normally available through SEN support. It is issued by the local authority after a formal assessment. The EHCP percentage shown is the proportion of all pupils on rollwho have an EHCP. The national average is around 4–5%.

SEN Support (%)

SEN support is for pupils who need extra help but do not have an EHCP. This is sometimes called “School Action” or “School Action Plus” under the old system. The school provides additional support internally. The SEN support percentage shown is the proportion of all pupils on rollreceiving this help. Nationally, around 12–14% of pupils are on SEN support.

Types of SEN Provision

Schools are categorised by the type of SEN provision they offer. Mainstream schools may have “No SEN provision”, “SEN without a statement/EHCP”, or “SEN with a statement/EHCP”. Special schools typically cater specifically for pupils with EHCPs. SchoolWize shows the school's designated SEN provision type as recorded in the GIAS register, along with details of any specialist SEN unit (on-roll numbers and capacity) and resourced provision.

Workforce Data

Workforce data comes from the School Workforce Census, collected annually by the DfE. It provides insight into the staffing levels at each school.

Teacher FTE (Full-Time Equivalent)

This shows the number of full-time equivalent teachers at the school. Two part-time teachers working half a week each count as 1.0 FTE. This is a more accurate measure than headcount because it accounts for part-time working.

Pupil-Teacher Ratio

This is the number of pupils divided by the number of full-time equivalent teachers. A ratio of 20:1 means there are roughly 20 pupils for every teacher. Lower ratios generally mean smaller class sizes, though this is not the same as class size — some teachers may be in non-classroom roles. The national average is around 17:1 for primary and 16:1 for secondary.

Teaching Assistants

This shows the number of teaching assistants (TAs) employed at the school, also in FTE. TAs play an important role in supporting pupils, particularly those with SEN. A high number of TAs relative to teachers can indicate a strong focus on additional support.

Subjects Offered

For secondary schools, the School Workforce Census records which subjects have at least one qualified teacher. This gives an indication of the breadth of the curriculum. A school with teachers in a wide range of subjects can offer more choice to pupils.

Destinations Data

Destinations data tracks what pupils go on to do after leaving school. This is collected by the DfE and published as “sustained destination” measures — meaning the activity was sustained for at least two terms after leaving.

Sustained Education (%)

The percentage of pupils who went into sustained education after leaving the school. This includes further education colleges, sixth forms, universities, and other education settings. A high percentage indicates that most leavers continue in education.

Further Education (%)

The percentage of pupils who entered further education (FE) — typically colleges offering vocational qualifications, apprenticeships, or resits. This is part of the overall sustained education figure.

Higher Education (%)

The percentage who went to university or another higher education institution. This is a key indicator for parents interested in how well a school prepares pupils for university. Nationally, around 40–50% of KS4 leavers eventually enter higher education.

Apprenticeship (%)

The percentage who entered a sustained apprenticeship. Apprenticeships combine work with study and are an increasingly popular route. A strong apprenticeship figure alongside strong education figures suggests the school supports multiple pathways.

Employment (%)

The percentage who went directly into sustained employment (not including apprenticeships). This figure is usually quite low for KS4 leavers (5–10%) as most continue in education or training.

How We Process Data

Our data processing is straightforward and transparent:

1. Collection: We download published datasets from official government sources (DfE EES, GIAS, Ofsted) on a regular basis.
2. Validation:We check that data loads correctly — no missing rows, no duplicate records, no corrupted values. If a dataset fails validation, we do not publish it.
3. Storage: Data is stored securely on servers within the United Kingdom. Access is strictly controlled.
4. Presentation: We present data exactly as published by the DfE and Ofsted. We do not adjust, interpret, or editorialise the numbers. What you see is what was published.

Data Limitations & Caveats

School data is valuable, but it has limitations. It is important to understand these before drawing conclusions.

Data Suppression

The DfE suppresses results for any cohort of fewer than 5 pupils to protect individual privacy. This means that if a school had only 3 pupils taking a particular subject, the result for that subject will not be published. We cannot show suppressed data because it is not published.

COVID-Era Gaps (2020–2022)

Public exams were cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Grades were awarded through teacher assessment instead. The DfE chose not to publish standard performance tables for these years. This means:

• There is no exam data for 2020 or 2021.
• 2022 data should be treated with caution — it was the first year back after disruption, and results may not be comparable to pre-2020 years.
• You should not draw trend lines across the COVID gap. A line from 2019 to 2022 does not represent a smooth trajectory.

Published Data Is Not Current-Year Data

The most recently published performance data is typically from the previous academic year. For example, data published in autumn 2025 covers the 2024/25 academic year. There is always a lag. The data you see on SchoolWize is the most recent available, but it is not real-time.

No Editorialising

We present data as published. We do not rank schools as “good” or “bad”. We do not adjust scores to make any school look better or worse. The numbers are what they are — we help you understand what they mean, but we do not tell you what to think.

Our Independence

SchoolWize is not affiliated with any school, government body, local authority, or education institution. We are an independent data company.

No school can pay to influence its data on SchoolWize. No institution can pay for a higher ranking or a more favourable presentation. Every school is treated identically.

Our revenue comes from premium features for power users, not from the schools themselves. The core data you see on SchoolWize is and will remain free to access.

Open Government Licence

All school performance data published by the Department for Education and Ofsted is released under the Open Government Licence (OGL) v3.0. This means anyone can copy, publish, distribute, and adapt the data, provided they acknowledge the source and do not misrepresent it.