Data & Methodology

Transparency matters. Here's exactly where our data comes from, how we process it, and how we present it to you.

Data Sources

Department for Education (DfE)

Annually (January-March)

Official school performance tables, school census data, and establishment information. Covers KS2, GCSE, and A-Level results for all state-funded schools in England.

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Ofsted

Within 48 hours of publication

Inspection ratings, inspection dates, and report outcomes for every state-funded school. Includes the Overall Effectiveness judgement and sub-category grades.

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Police UK / Home Office

Monthly

Street-level crime data aggregated by category (anti-social behaviour, burglary, violence, etc.) for the neighbourhood surrounding each school.

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Ofcom

Annually

Broadband coverage and speed data at postcode level, including average download speeds and superfast availability percentages.

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Environment Agency

Annually

Flood risk assessments covering river, surface water, and coastal flooding probability for the area around each school.

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HM Land Registry

Monthly

Property price paid data, enabling parents to understand housing costs in a school's local area. Includes mean and median prices by year.

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Our Methodology

School Coverage

FavSchools covers over 25,000 state-funded schools across 150+ local authorities in England. This includes primary schools, secondary schools, academies, free schools, and post-16 institutions. Independent (private) schools are included where data is publicly available.

Performance Metrics

Exam results are sourced directly from DfE performance tables. For GCSE, we display Attainment 8, Progress 8, Basics (9-5 and 9-4), EBacc entry rate and APS. For KS2, we show Reading, Writing, and Maths expected-standard percentages plus progress scores. For A-Level, we display APS per entry, A*-A %, A*-B %, and AAB+ %. Multi-year data is used to generate trend charts where available.

League Table Rankings

League tables are ranked by a single user-selected metric (e.g. Attainment 8 or RWM Expected %). Rankings only include schools for which data is available in the selected academic year; schools without data are excluded rather than ranked at the bottom.

Neighbourhood Data

Crime statistics are aggregated within a 1-mile radius of each school. Broadband data reflects the school's postcode area. Property prices use the school's postcode district. Flood risk is assessed at the postcode level using Environment Agency flood maps.

Feeder & Destination Schools

School transition data is sourced from DfE pupil movement datasets where available. This shows which primary schools feed into which secondaries, and vice versa, based on actual pupil flows.

Data Freshness

We refresh our database regularly. Exam results are updated as soon as DfE publishes new performance tables (typically January). Ofsted ratings are updated within days of publication. Crime, broadband, and flood data are updated on the schedule shown above for each source.

Have questions about our data?

We're committed to accuracy and transparency. If you spot an error or have questions about how we calculate a metric, please get in touch.

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