Simplify school types and persist selected schools

- Add runtime normalization of cryptic school type codes to user-friendly names
  (e.g., AC/ACC/ACCS -> "Academy", CY/CYS -> "Community")
- Update SCHOOL_TYPE_MAP in schemas.py with consolidated mappings
- Add normalize_school_type() and get_school_type_codes_for_filter() helpers
- Persist selected schools in localStorage across page refreshes
- Move "Add to Compare" button from modal footer to header

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

backend/data_loader.py

@@ -17,11 +17,39 @@ from sqlalchemy.orm import joinedload, Session
 from .config import settings
 from .database import SessionLocal, get_db_session
 from .models import School, SchoolResult
+from .schemas import SCHOOL_TYPE_MAP
 
 # Cache for user search postcode geocoding (not for school data)
 _postcode_cache: Dict[str, Tuple[float, float]] = {}
 
 
+def normalize_school_type(school_type: Optional[str]) -> Optional[str]:
+    """Convert cryptic school type codes to user-friendly names."""
+    if not school_type:
+        return None
+    # Check if it's a code that needs mapping
+    code = school_type.strip().upper()
+    if code in SCHOOL_TYPE_MAP:
+        return SCHOOL_TYPE_MAP[code]
+    # Return original if already a friendly name or unknown code
+    return school_type
+
+
+def get_school_type_codes_for_filter(school_type: str) -> List[str]:
+    """Get all database codes that map to a given friendly name."""
+    if not school_type:
+        return []
+    school_type_lower = school_type.lower()
+    # Collect all codes that map to this friendly name
+    codes = []
+    for code, friendly_name in SCHOOL_TYPE_MAP.items():
+        if friendly_name.lower() == school_type_lower:
+            codes.append(code.lower())
+    # Also include the school_type itself (case-insensitive) in case it's stored as-is
+    codes.append(school_type_lower)
+    return codes
+
+
 def geocode_single_postcode(postcode: str) -> Optional[Tuple[float, float]]:
     """Geocode a single postcode using postcodes.io API."""
     if not postcode:
@@ -115,7 +143,7 @@ def get_available_local_authorities(db: Session = None) -> List[str]:
 
 
 def get_available_school_types(db: Session = None) -> List[str]:
-    """Get list of available school types."""
+    """Get list of available school types (normalized to user-friendly names)."""
     close_db = db is None
     if db is None:
         db = get_db()
@@ -124,9 +152,15 @@ def get_available_school_types(db: Session = None) -> List[str]:
         result = db.query(School.school_type)\
             .filter(School.school_type.isnot(None))\
             .distinct()\
-            .order_by(School.school_type)\
             .all()
-        return [r[0] for r in result if r[0]]
+        # Normalize codes to friendly names and deduplicate
+        normalized = set()
+        for r in result:
+            if r[0]:
+                friendly_name = normalize_school_type(r[0])
+                if friendly_name:
+                    normalized.add(friendly_name)
+        return sorted(normalized)
     finally:
         if close_db:
             db.close()
@@ -174,7 +208,10 @@ def get_schools(
         query = query.filter(func.lower(School.local_authority) == local_authority.lower())
 
     if school_type:
-        query = query.filter(func.lower(School.school_type) == school_type.lower())
+        # Filter by all codes that map to this friendly name
+        type_codes = get_school_type_codes_for_filter(school_type)
+        if type_codes:
+            query = query.filter(func.lower(School.school_type).in_(type_codes))
 
     # Get total count
     total = query.count()
@@ -222,7 +259,10 @@ def get_schools_near_location(
         query = query.filter(func.lower(School.local_authority) == local_authority.lower())
 
     if school_type:
-        query = query.filter(func.lower(School.school_type) == school_type.lower())
+        # Filter by all codes that map to this friendly name
+        type_codes = get_school_type_codes_for_filter(school_type)
+        if type_codes:
+            query = query.filter(func.lower(School.school_type).in_(type_codes))
 
     # Get all matching schools and calculate distances
     all_schools = query.all()
@@ -335,7 +375,7 @@ def school_to_dict(school: School, include_results: bool = False) -> dict:
         "urn": school.urn,
         "school_name": school.school_name,
         "local_authority": school.local_authority,
-        "school_type": school.school_type,
+        "school_type": normalize_school_type(school.school_type),
         "address": school.address,
         "town": school.town,
         "postcode": school.postcode,
@@ -422,7 +462,7 @@ def load_school_data_as_dataframe(db: Session = None) -> pd.DataFrame:
                     "urn": school.urn,
                     "school_name": school.school_name,
                     "local_authority": school.local_authority,
-                    "school_type": school.school_type,
+                    "school_type": normalize_school_type(school.school_type),
                     "address": school.address,
                     "town": school.town,
                     "postcode": school.postcode,

backend/schemas.py

@@ -101,16 +101,24 @@ NUMERIC_COLUMNS = [
     "maths_avg_3yr",
 ]
 
-# School type code to name mapping
+# School type code to user-friendly name mapping
 SCHOOL_TYPE_MAP = {
+    # Academies
     "AC": "Academy",
-    "ACC": "Academy Converter",
+    "ACC": "Academy",
-    "ACS": "Academy Sponsor Led",
+    "ACCS": "Academy",
-    "CY": "Community School",
+    "ACS": "Academy (Sponsor Led)",
+    # Community Schools
+    "CY": "Community",
+    "CYS": "Community",
+    # Voluntary Schools
     "VA": "Voluntary Aided",
     "VC": "Voluntary Controlled",
+    # Foundation Schools
     "FD": "Foundation",
     "F": "Foundation",
+    "FDS": "Foundation",
+    # Free Schools
     "FS": "Free School",
 }
 

frontend/app.js

@@ -345,6 +345,9 @@ function handleRoute() {
 document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", init);
 
 async function init() {
+  // Load selected schools from localStorage first
+  loadSelectedSchoolsFromStorage();
+
   try {
     // Load filters and metrics in parallel (single request for filters)
     const [filtersData, metricsData] = await Promise.all([
@@ -376,6 +379,9 @@ async function init() {
   // Initialize tooltip manager
   tooltipManager = new TooltipManager();
 
+  // Render any previously selected schools
+  renderSelectedSchools();
+
   // Handle initial route
   handleRoute();
 
@@ -1544,14 +1550,38 @@ function addToComparison(school) {
   }
 
   state.selectedSchools.push(school);
+  saveSelectedSchoolsToStorage();
   renderSelectedSchools();
 }
 
 function removeFromComparison(urn) {
   state.selectedSchools = state.selectedSchools.filter((s) => s.urn !== urn);
+  saveSelectedSchoolsToStorage();
   renderSelectedSchools();
 }
 
+function saveSelectedSchoolsToStorage() {
+  try {
+    localStorage.setItem("selectedSchools", JSON.stringify(state.selectedSchools));
+  } catch (e) {
+    console.warn("Failed to save to localStorage:", e);
+  }
+}
+
+function loadSelectedSchoolsFromStorage() {
+  try {
+    const stored = localStorage.getItem("selectedSchools");
+    if (stored) {
+      const schools = JSON.parse(stored);
+      if (Array.isArray(schools)) {
+        state.selectedSchools = schools;
+      }
+    }
+  } catch (e) {
+    console.warn("Failed to load from localStorage:", e);
+  }
+}
+
 function showEmptyState(container, message) {
   container.innerHTML = `
         <div class="empty-state">

frontend/index.html

@@ -330,6 +330,7 @@
                 <h2 id="modal-school-name"></h2>
                 <div class="modal-meta" id="modal-meta"></div>
                 <div class="modal-details" id="modal-details"></div>
+                <button class="btn btn-primary" id="add-to-compare">Add to Compare</button>
             </div>
             <div class="modal-body">
                 <div class="modal-chart-container">
@@ -341,9 +342,6 @@
                     <div class="modal-map" id="modal-map"></div>
                 </div>
             </div>
-            <div class="modal-footer">
-                <button class="btn btn-primary" id="add-to-compare">Add to Compare</button>
-            </div>
         </div>
     </div>
 

frontend/styles.css

@@ -1088,6 +1088,10 @@ body {
     margin-bottom: 0.25rem;
 }
 
+.modal-header .btn {
+    margin-top: 1rem;
+}
+
 .modal-details .modal-age-range {
     color: var(--text-muted);
 }
@@ -1165,12 +1169,6 @@ body {
     cursor: pointer;
 }
 
-.modal-footer {
-    padding: 1.5rem 2rem;
-    border-top: 1px solid var(--border-color);
-    display: flex;
-    justify-content: flex-end;
-}
 
 /* Buttons */
 .btn {