School comparison research for advisers

Free, now · the evidence tools

Test a claim yourself first.

Choose two schools and the exact result, see whether the apparent lead survives a change of years, and inspect the source references, checks and remaining gaps for each figure. Keep the published inputs in a downloadable dated evidence copy, or save the question and its sources in a brief on this browser. No account is needed.

Check a real claim Compare schools over time Open your saved briefs

Self-service descriptive analysis. Saved briefs are local to this browser. Shared accounts and automatic monitoring are not offered; paid commissioning is not yet open.

What the paid review adds

The free tools show you what the published record says and refuse what it cannot settle. The review does the work you would otherwise do yourself before putting a figure in front of a client:

Free tools compared with the commissioned review, task by task
Your client question	Free tools	Commissioned review
Which years can be compared	Only years the stored record can match; disputed years are held back	Disputed years taken to the schools’ own publications; every competing value is recorded with its source, and the report names the version it used or keeps the year excluded and says so
Sources	Links to the record’s sources	The relevant publication versions retrieved, read and cited; conflicts recorded with every competing value
Definitions	Kept separate automatically	Changes of definition investigated and explained for your question
Wording	A generic evidence note	Wording you can use for the named client, with its qualifications inline, plus the questions to put to the schools
Accountability	Automated comparison; no case-specific reviewer sign-off	A named reviewer checks and signs off the conclusions for the agreed question; versioned PDF, CSV, inputs and HTML

Concretely: for St Paul’s against King’s Wimbledon on A-level A*, 2022–2025, the free checker can match one year because the stored record holds competing published values for the other three. The worked review took those years to the publications and compared all four, recording each disagreement.

See the two results side by side

What it does not do

It does not replace your knowledge of the child, the schools or admissions. Published outcomes cannot show how much a school’s teaching contributed, predict a particular child’s results or admission, or rank schools.

Suitability and admissions advice, unlimited revisions, automatic monitoring and open-ended original research are outside the scope. Payment cannot change the evidence or the conclusion.

Questions a review can investigate

Is the difference consistent?

Has one school reported a higher A-level A* share across several comparable years, or does the impression rest on its latest results?

What do the university figures count?

Are the Oxford and Cambridge figures offers, acceptances or places taken up? Can they be compared across this shortlist?

What should we ask the school?

Which missing years, changing definitions or conflicting publications need an explanation before you use the figures in client advice?

School Shortlist Evidence Review · pilot

One question, clearly answered.

£600 · proposed; not yet open
A proposed fee, not a payable quotation. No opening date is set.

Scope

Two or three covered schools, one agreed client question and outcome measure, and up to ten calendar years where usable evidence exists. Coverage is checked before anything is quoted: if the evidence cannot support your question you get a plain explanation, a narrower proposal or a declined commission, not an unsupported sale.

What you receive

A concise report with the answer, the comparison, checks of the sources behind material claims, the conflicts found, a justified interpretation and the questions the evidence leaves open, with one clarification round. It arrives as PDF and HTML, with the reproducible calculation as CSV and a versioned copy of the inputs.

Timing and reviewer

Five working days after an accepted scope and the agreed payment condition is the proposed turnaround, subject to the reviewer’s confirmed capacity at the time of quotation. Every report is checked and signed off by a named reviewer before it is issued; the reviewer is named on the quotation and on the report.

Permitted use

You may use the report, and attributed extracts or the CSV, in the advice for the agreed named client, keeping its qualifications, version and date. It is not a licence to resell the report, republish source publications in bulk or redistribute the data.

Corrections

Issued reports keep their dated copy of the inputs. If a source turns out to have been misread, a corrected version is issued with its reason and effect, and the original is retained. A later change on a school’s website does not silently alter an issued report.

Larger work

Four or five schools, longer periods or substantial new research need a separate scope and quotation. Bespoke research is never bundled silently into a fixed fee.

What happens after an enquiry

Scope check. Your question and shortlist are checked against the published coverage. You hear which schools, measures and years can support the question, what is unavailable and what is disputed, and whether a review is worth commissioning.
Agreed scope and quotation. The question, evidence limits, deliverables, permitted use, reviewer and timing are set out in a written quotation. Nothing is agreed until you accept it in writing.
Commissioning. Payment will be by invoice once commissioning opens. This page never takes payment.
Research and review. The publications are checked, the calculation is reproduced, and the named reviewer signs off the conclusions.
Delivery. The report, CSV and dated copy of the inputs are issued with a version and date, followed by one clarification round and the correction route above.

Commissioning is not yet open: an enquiry is not an order, an accepted scope or a contract, and no payment can be taken.

Start with your client question

Draft your question (nothing is sent)

Tell us the schools, the question and any deadline. If you came from a comparison or claim check, its selection is carried below and you can check comparable coverage before you send. A scope enquiry is not an order: it asks whether the evidence supports a review and what it would cover. No payment is taken.

Reviews are not yet open, so nothing can be sent from this page. Draft your question here and keep a copy, and use “Tell me when reviews open” to hear when they do.

No enquiry route is active. Prepare your question here and keep a copy; nothing can be sent from this page yet.

While enquiries are closed you can still:

read the worked review to see what a review answers;
build the comparison or claim check your question rests on and keep its link;
draft your question below and keep a copy: nothing is sent from this page;
ask to be told when reviews open.

Draft your question (nothing is sent)

Your name RequiredBusiness email Required

Organisation Optional Schools Required What question should the review answer? Required I need help choosing which results to compare Deadline, if relevant Optional

Comparison context and coverage check

No comparison was supplied. Your question can still be prepared.

Adjust covered schools

MeasureFrom yearTo year

Overlapping years onlyExceptional-year context

Open comparison

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Your enquiry copy

Drafting a question here needs JavaScript. The offer and the worked review remain readable, and you can write to hello@theschoolsrecord.co.uk with any question about them.