diff --git a/nextjs-app/__tests__/components/DotStrip.test.tsx b/nextjs-app/__tests__/components/DotStrip.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..786f183
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nextjs-app/__tests__/components/DotStrip.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+import { render, screen } from '@testing-library/react';
+
+import { DotStrip } from '@/components/DotStrip';
+
+describe('DotStrip', () => {
+  it('enumerates anchor and school values in the aria-label', () => {
+    render(
+      <DotStrip
+        label="Reading"
+        values={[91, 92, 87]}
+        schoolNames={['Barclay', 'Elmhurst', 'Plumcroft']}
+        anchor={{ value: 75, label: 'England 75%' }}
+      />,
+    );
+    const strip = screen.getByRole('img');
+    expect(strip).toHaveAccessibleName(
+      'Reading: England 75%, Barclay 91%, Elmhurst 92%, Plumcroft 87%',
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('renders the anchor tick when provided and not otherwise', () => {
+    const { rerender } = render(
+      <DotStrip
+        label="Reading"
+        values={[91]}
+        schoolNames={['Barclay']}
+        anchor={{ value: 75, label: 'England 75%' }}
+      />,
+    );
+    expect(screen.getByText('England 75%')).toBeInTheDocument();
+
+    rerender(
+      <DotStrip label="Science" values={[95]} schoolNames={['Barclay']} anchor={null} />,
+    );
+    expect(screen.queryByText(/England/)).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it('skips schools without a value', () => {
+    render(
+      <DotStrip
+        label="Maths"
+        values={[91, null]}
+        schoolNames={['Barclay', 'Elmhurst']}
+      />,
+    );
+    expect(screen.getByRole('img')).toHaveAccessibleName('Maths: Barclay 91%');
+  });
+});
diff --git a/nextjs-app/components/DotStrip.module.css b/nextjs-app/components/DotStrip.module.css
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2b7f380
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nextjs-app/components/DotStrip.module.css
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+.row {
+  margin: 1.1rem 0 1.6rem;
+}
+
+.head {
+  display: flex;
+  justify-content: space-between;
+  align-items: baseline;
+  gap: 1rem;
+  flex-wrap: wrap;
+}
+
+.title {
+  font-weight: 600;
+  font-size: 0.95rem;
+}
+
+.headNote {
+  font-size: 0.8rem;
+  color: var(--text-muted);
+}
+
+.strip {
+  position: relative;
+  height: 34px;
+  margin-top: 0.45rem;
+}
+
+.track {
+  position: absolute;
+  left: 0;
+  right: 0;
+  top: 15px;
+  height: 4px;
+  border-radius: 2px;
+  background: var(--bg-secondary);
+}
+
+.anchorTick {
+  position: absolute;
+  top: 4px;
+  width: 2px;
+  height: 26px;
+  background: var(--text-muted);
+}
+
+.anchorLabel {
+  position: absolute;
+  top: -14px;
+  transform: translateX(-50%);
+  font-size: 0.7rem;
+  color: var(--text-muted);
+  white-space: nowrap;
+}
+
+.point {
+  position: absolute;
+  top: 9px;
+  width: 16px;
+  height: 16px;
+  border-radius: 50%;
+  transform: translateX(-50%);
+  border: 2px solid var(--bg-card);
+  box-shadow: 0 0 0 1px rgba(26, 22, 18, 0.08);
+}
+
+.pointLabel {
+  position: absolute;
+  top: 27px;
+  transform: translateX(-50%);
+  font-size: 0.72rem;
+  font-weight: 600;
+  font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums;
+  color: var(--text-secondary);
+}
+
+.pointLabelAbove {
+  top: -6px;
+}
+
+@media (max-width: 760px) {
+  .row {
+    margin: 0.9rem 0 1.3rem;
+  }
+
+  .title {
+    font-size: 0.82rem;
+  }
+
+  .strip {
+    height: 32px;
+  }
+
+  .point {
+    width: 14px;
+    height: 14px;
+  }
+
+  .pointLabel {
+    font-size: 0.64rem;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/nextjs-app/components/DotStrip.tsx b/nextjs-app/components/DotStrip.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cd3b843
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nextjs-app/components/DotStrip.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+/**
+ * DotStrip — the compare screen's signature element: one measure per strip,
+ * every school's dot on a shared track, anchored by a grey England-average
+ * tick so "right of the tick = above average" needs no domain knowledge.
+ */
+
+'use client';
+
+import { stripPositions } from '@/lib/compareLogic';
+import { CHART_COLORS, CHART_TEXT_COLORS } from '@/lib/utils';
+import styles from './DotStrip.module.css';
+
+export interface DotStripProps {
+  label: string;
+  /** One value per school; index = the school's chart-colour index. */
+  values: Array<number | null>;
+  schoolNames: string[];
+  /** Anchor tick, e.g. { value: 62, label: 'England 62%' }. Omit when the
+   * benchmark isn't available — the caller should say why in `headNote`. */
+  anchor?: { value: number; label: string } | null;
+  min?: number;
+  max?: number;
+  unit?: string;
+  /** Tooltip on the measure label (plain-English definition). */
+  tip?: string;
+  /** Small note on the right of the header row (e.g. the tick legend). */
+  headNote?: string;
+}
+
+export function DotStrip({
+  label,
+  values,
+  schoolNames,
+  anchor = null,
+  min = 0,
+  max = 100,
+  unit = '%',
+  tip,
+  headNote,
+}: DotStripProps) {
+  const points = stripPositions(values, min, max);
+  const span = max - min;
+  const anchorPos =
+    anchor != null
+      ? Math.min(100, Math.max(0, ((anchor.value - min) / span) * 100))
+      : null;
+
+  const ariaParts = [
+    anchor ? `${anchor.label}` : null,
+    ...points.map(
+      (p) => `${schoolNames[p.schoolIndex] ?? `School ${p.schoolIndex + 1}`} ${p.value}${unit}`,
+    ),
+  ].filter(Boolean);
+
+  return (
+    <div className={styles.row}>
+      <div className={styles.head}>
+        <span className={styles.title} title={tip}>
+          {label}
+        </span>
+        {headNote && <span className={styles.headNote}>{headNote}</span>}
+      </div>
+      <div className={styles.strip} role="img" aria-label={`${label}: ${ariaParts.join(', ')}`}>
+        <div className={styles.track} />
+        {anchorPos != null && anchor && (
+          <>
+            <span className={styles.anchorTick} style={{ left: `${anchorPos}%` }} />
+            <span className={styles.anchorLabel} style={{ left: `${anchorPos}%` }}>
+              {anchor.label}
+            </span>
+          </>
+        )}
+        {points.map((p) => (
+          <span key={p.schoolIndex}>
+            <span
+              className={styles.point}
+              style={{
+                left: `${p.pos}%`,
+                background: CHART_COLORS[p.schoolIndex % CHART_COLORS.length],
+              }}
+              title={`${schoolNames[p.schoolIndex] ?? ''}: ${p.value}${unit}`}
+            />
+            <span
+              className={`${styles.pointLabel} ${p.labelAbove ? styles.pointLabelAbove : ''}`}
+              style={{
+                left: `${p.pos}%`,
+                color: CHART_TEXT_COLORS[p.schoolIndex % CHART_TEXT_COLORS.length],
+              }}
+            >
+              {p.value}
+            </span>
+          </span>
+        ))}
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  );
+}