Glossary of school metrics
Plain-English explanations of every figure on a school page. Click the (?) icon next to any metric to jump here.
Composite score (0–100)
A single number we calculate to help compare schools at a glance. It is not an official DfE measure. For primary schools it weights attainment (% meeting expected KS2 standard, 65%) and stretch (% achieving higher standard, 35%). For secondary schools it weights Attainment 8 (a score around 50 typically) and adjusts for Progress 8 where available.
A higher score does not necessarily mean a better school for your child. Composite scores measure exam outcomes only — they tell you nothing about pastoral care, extra-curricular provision, specialism strength, intake characteristics, or how well a school will suit a particular child. See our methodology page for the full formula.
% meeting expected RWM standard (KS2)
The percentage of Year 6 pupils who met the expected standard in all three of reading, writing and maths combined. The national figure has been around 60% in recent years.
% achieving higher RWM standard (KS2)
The percentage of Year 6 pupils who achieved the higher standard across reading, writing and maths together. Typically around 8–10% nationally.
Reading average scaled score (KS2)
Average scaled score in the Year 6 reading test. 100 is the expected standard; the national average usually sits around 104–105.
Maths average scaled score (KS2)
Average scaled score in the Year 6 maths test. 100 is the expected standard; the national average is typically 103–105.
Reading / Writing / Maths progress (KS2)
Measures how much progress pupils have made from KS1 to KS2 in each subject. Not published by DfE for 2024–25 — see data availability.
Attainment 8 (KS4)
Average GCSE points score across eight subjects: English (double-weighted), maths (double-weighted), three subjects from the EBacc list, and three further subjects. Range is typically 30–70; national average around 46.
Progress 8 (KS4)
Measures how much progress pupils have made between KS2 and KS4 compared with pupils who started with the same KS2 results. A score of 0 is national average; +0.5 is well above; –0.5 is well below. Not published by DfE for 2024–25 — see data availability.
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths (KS4)
Percentage of pupils achieving grade 4 or better ("standard pass") in both English and maths at GCSE.
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths (KS4)
Percentage of pupils achieving grade 5 or better ("strong pass") in both English and maths at GCSE.
EBacc — average points score and % grade 5+
The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) is a set of subjects: English, maths, science, a language, and history or geography. The APS is the average point score across those subjects (range typically 3–6). The "% grade 5+" figure is the proportion of pupils achieving grade 5 across all EBacc subjects.
% FSM ever-6
Percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years. A widely-used proxy for school-level deprivation.
% EAL (English as an additional language)
Percentage of pupils whose first language is recorded as something other than English.
Three-year trends
The trend cards on each school page show how a headline measure has moved across the last three years of published DfE data. They show the direction of travel for that one school. They are not a like-for-like ranking: national averages and the tests themselves shift from year to year, and small cohorts can swing sharply.
“Typical” school
In the school profile, “typical” is the middle (median) school of the same phase in England, so half of schools sit above it and half below. A figure above or below typical is not in itself better or worse. A higher share of pupils eligible for free school meals, for example, describes the intake, not the quality of teaching.
First preferences per place
Each spring the DfE publishes how many families named each school as their first choice, and how many places it offered. Dividing one by the other gives first preferences per place. Above 1.0 (the red dashed line on our charts), more families put the school first than it had places, so some first choices could not be met. Below 1.0, every family that put the school first could in principle be offered a place.