fix(search): stop replaying a failed LA-averages request forever

The search page fetched LA averages with cache: 'force-cache', which serves
any stored response, however old, without asking the server. One failed
request (a staging deploy restart; the July proxy outage) was stored and
replayed on every later visit, and the error was swallowed, so the
"vs LA avg" delta silently vanished from every secondary row in that
browser. A Playwright profile still held a 500 dated 5 July.

The default cache mode honours the API's Cache-Control (five minutes), so
a good answer is still reused and an error never is. Browsers holding a
stored failure recover on their next visit.

A journey now checks that a mainstream secondary's row shows the
comparison: nothing did, which is how it could go missing unnoticed.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

e2e/tests/journeys.spec.ts

@@ -410,6 +410,29 @@ test('search and the school page agree on how many pupils a secondary has', asyn
   expect(school.total_pupils).toBe(detail.school_info.total_pupils);
 });
 
+test('a secondary search row compares its Attainment 8 with the LA average', async ({ page }) => {
+  // The comparison vanished unnoticed: the averages were fetched with
+  // force-cache, so one stored failure hid it in that browser for good.
+  // Playwright disables the HTTP cache when it intercepts requests, so this
+  // guards the comparison itself; the unit test pins the cache mode.
+  const la = await (await page.request.get('/api/la-averages')).json();
+  const averages: Record<string, number> = la.secondary?.attainment_8_by_la ?? {};
+  const res = await page.request.get('/api/schools?search=school&phase=secondary&page_size=50');
+  expect(res.ok()).toBeTruthy();
+  const school = ((await res.json()).schools ?? []).find(
+    (s: { attainment_8_score?: number | null; local_authority?: string; school_type?: string }) =>
+      s.attainment_8_score != null && s.local_authority != null && averages[s.local_authority] != null
+      && !/special|pupil referral|alternative provision/i.test(s.school_type ?? ''));
+  test.skip(!school, 'no mainstream secondary with an LA average here');
+
+  await searchByName(page, school.school_name);
+  const link = page.locator(`a[href^="/school/${school.urn}-"]`).first();
+  await expect(link).toBeVisible({ timeout: 15_000 });
+  const stats = link.locator('xpath=ancestor::div[contains(@class, "__rowContent")][1]')
+    .locator('[class*="__line3"]');
+  await expect(stats.getByText(/vs LA avg/)).toBeVisible();
+});
+
 test('a phase outside primary/secondary filters to that phase, not to everything', async ({ page }) => {
   // The search page offers every GIAS phase, but the API only knew the grouped
   // ones and silently dropped the rest — so "Nursery" returned primaries.
@@ -3341,3 +3364,26 @@ for (const width of [360, 390, 430]) {
     expect(failing).toEqual([]);
   });
 }
+
+/*
+ * The header's facts row read GIAS text as booleans: "Not applicable" put a
+ * "Nursery" chip on secondaries aged 11–18, and "Girls" became "Girls's
+ * school". Data-invariant: the chip follows whatever the API says.
+ */
+test('a girls\' secondary header names it properly and shows Nursery only when it has one', async ({ page }) => {
+  const res = await page.request.get('/api/schools?search=school&phase=secondary&gender=girls&page_size=1');
+  expect(res.ok()).toBeTruthy();
+  const [school] = (await res.json()).schools ?? [];
+  test.skip(!school, 'no girls\' secondary in this environment');
+  expect(school.gender, 'the gender filter was ignored').toBe('Girls');
+  const detail = await (await page.request.get(`/api/schools/${school.urn}`)).json();
+  // Without the field, the Nursery assertion below would pass vacuously.
+  expect(detail.school_info).toHaveProperty('nursery_provision');
+
+  await page.goto(`/school/${school.urn}`);
+  const header = page.locator('header', { has: page.getByRole('heading', { level: 1 }) });
+  await expect(header.getByText("Girls' school", { exact: true })).toBeVisible({ timeout: 15_000 });
+  await expect(header.getByText(/'s school/)).toHaveCount(0);
+  await expect(header.getByText('Nursery', { exact: true }))
+    .toHaveCount(detail.school_info.nursery_provision === 'Has Nursery Classes' ? 1 : 0);
+});

nextjs-app/__tests__/components/HomeView.staleFetch.test.tsx

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { act, fireEvent, render, screen } from '@testing-library/react';
 import { HomeView } from '@/components/HomeView';
-import { fetchSchools } from '@/lib/api';
+import { fetchLAaverages, fetchSchools } from '@/lib/api';
 import { primaryFixture } from '../support/schoolFixtures';
 import type { SchoolsResponse, School } from '@/lib/types';
 
@@ -84,3 +84,23 @@ test('failed map requests can be retried by reopening the map', async () => {
   expect(fetchSchools).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
   expect(screen.getByTestId('map')).toHaveTextContent('Retry result');
 });
+
+test('LA averages are not fetched with force-cache, so one failure is not replayed for good', async () => {
+  // force-cache serves any stored response, however old, without asking the
+  // server. A request that failed once (a staging deploy restart, the July
+  // proxy outage) was stored and replayed on every later visit, and the
+  // "vs LA avg" delta vanished from every secondary row in that browser.
+  // The default mode honours the API's Cache-Control and never reuses an
+  // error.
+  params = new URLSearchParams('search=high');
+  const secondary: SchoolsResponse = {
+    ...response('Alpha High'),
+    schools: [{ ...primaryFixture.schoolInfo, school_name: 'Alpha High', phase: 'Secondary', attainment_8_score: 50 }],
+  };
+  render(<HomeView initialSchools={secondary} filters={filters} />);
+  await act(async () => {});
+  expect(fetchLAaverages).toHaveBeenCalled();
+  for (const [options] of jest.mocked(fetchLAaverages).mock.calls) {
+    expect(options?.cache).not.toBe('force-cache');
+  }
+});

nextjs-app/__tests__/components/PlaceView.test.tsx

@@ -361,12 +361,12 @@ describe('PlaceView school attributes', () => {
       { urn: 1, school_name: 'Alpha Primary', phase: 'Primary',
         rwm_expected_pct: 82, attainment_8_score: null,
         age_range: '4-11', religious_denomination: 'Church of England',
-        nursery_provision: true,
+        nursery_provision: 'Has Nursery Classes',
         parliamentary_constituency: 'Chelmsford' } as never,
       { urn: 2, school_name: 'Beta High', phase: 'Secondary',
         rwm_expected_pct: null, attainment_8_score: 47,
         age_range: '11-16', religious_denomination: 'Does not apply',
-        nursery_provision: false,
+        nursery_provision: 'No Nursery Classes',
         parliamentary_constituency: 'Witham' } as never,
     ],
     averages: { rwm_expected_pct: 63, attainment_8_score: 45 },
@@ -459,6 +459,18 @@ describe('PlaceView school attributes', () => {
     expect(cells.slice(2)).toEqual(['—', '—', '—', '—']);
   });
 
+  it('reads "Not applicable" as no nursery, not as a yes', () => {
+    // GIAS sends text. Tested for truthiness, every value was a "Yes".
+    const notApplicable: PlaceDetail = {
+      ...withAttributes,
+      schools: [{ urn: 5, school_name: 'Epsilon Primary', phase: 'Primary',
+                  rwm_expected_pct: 70, nursery_provision: 'Not applicable' } as never],
+    };
+    const { container } = render(<PlaceView detail={notApplicable} phase="primary"
+      englandAverage={61} neighbours={[]} />);
+    expect(container.querySelector('tbody')!.textContent).not.toContain('Yes');
+  });
+
   it('gives an all-through school its nursery under primary only', () => {
     // All-through schools render in both groups. Nursery belongs to the
     // primary reading of the same school, not the secondary one.
@@ -467,7 +479,7 @@ describe('PlaceView school attributes', () => {
       schools: [{ urn: 4, school_name: 'Delta Academy', phase: 'All-through',
                   rwm_expected_pct: 66, attainment_8_score: 51,
                   age_range: '4-18', religious_denomination: 'None',
-                  nursery_provision: true,
+                  nursery_provision: 'Has Nursery Classes',
                   parliamentary_constituency: 'Chelmsford' } as never],
     };
     const { container } = render(<PlaceView detail={allThrough}

nextjs-app/__tests__/components/schoolDetailHeader.test.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+/**
+ * The facts row under the school name.
+ *
+ * nursery_provision is GIAS text, not a boolean: "Has Nursery Classes",
+ * "No Nursery Classes" or "Not applicable". Tested for truthiness, every one
+ * of those read as a nursery, so secondaries aged 11–18 showed "Nursery".
+ */
+
+import { screen } from '@testing-library/react';
+import type { School } from '@/lib/types';
+import { primaryFixture, secondaryFixture } from '../support/schoolFixtures';
+import { renderSchoolDetail, renderSecondarySchoolDetail } from '../support/renderSchoolDetail';
+
+jest.mock('@/lib/analytics', () => ({
+  track: jest.fn(),
+  getNavigationSource: () => 'direct',
+}));
+jest.mock('@/components/PerformanceChart', () => ({
+  PerformanceChart: () => <div data-testid="performance-chart" />,
+}));
+jest.mock('@/components/SatsChart', () => ({
+  __esModule: true,
+  default: () => <div data-testid="sats-chart" />,
+}));
+jest.mock('@/components/AdmissionsTrendChart', () => ({
+  __esModule: true,
+  default: () => <div data-testid="admissions-trend-chart" />,
+}));
+jest.mock('@/components/SchoolHeroMap', () => ({
+  SchoolHeroMap: () => <div data-testid="hero-map" />,
+  __esModule: true,
+}));
+
+function withSchool<T extends { schoolInfo: School }>(fixture: T, info: Partial<School>): T {
+  return { ...fixture, schoolInfo: { ...fixture.schoolInfo, ...info } };
+}
+
+describe('school header nursery chip', () => {
+  it('shows Nursery when GIAS says the school has nursery classes', () => {
+    renderSchoolDetail(withSchool(primaryFixture, { nursery_provision: 'Has Nursery Classes' }));
+    expect(screen.getByText('Nursery', { selector: 'span' })).toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it.each(['No Nursery Classes', 'Not applicable', null])(
+    'hides Nursery when GIAS says %p',
+    (value) => {
+      renderSecondarySchoolDetail(withSchool(secondaryFixture, { nursery_provision: value }));
+      expect(screen.queryByText('Nursery', { selector: 'span' })).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+    },
+  );
+});
+
+describe('school header single-sex chip', () => {
+  it.each([['Girls', "Girls' school"], ['Boys', "Boys' school"]])(
+    'labels a %s school with a plural possessive',
+    (gender, label) => {
+      renderSecondarySchoolDetail(withSchool(secondaryFixture, { gender }));
+      expect(screen.getByText(label)).toBeInTheDocument();
+      expect(screen.queryByText(/'s school/)).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+    },
+  );
+
+  it('says nothing for a mixed school', () => {
+    renderSecondarySchoolDetail(withSchool(secondaryFixture, { gender: 'Mixed' }));
+    expect(screen.queryByText(/^(Girls|Boys|Mixed)'s? school$/)).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+});

nextjs-app/__tests__/lib/utils.test.ts

@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ import {
   computeYBounds,
   formatAgeRange,
   formatAgeSpan,
+  hasNurseryClasses,
+  singleSexLabel,
 } from '@/lib/utils';
 
 describe('formatPercentage', () => {
@@ -346,3 +348,32 @@ describe('formatAgeRange', () => {
     expect(formatAgeRange('4-11')).toBe('Ages 4–11');
   });
 });
+
+describe('hasNurseryClasses', () => {
+  it('is true only for the GIAS value that means it', () => {
+    // GIAS sends text, and two of its three values mean no nursery.
+    expect(hasNurseryClasses('Has Nursery Classes')).toBe(true);
+    expect(hasNurseryClasses('No Nursery Classes')).toBe(false);
+    expect(hasNurseryClasses('Not applicable')).toBe(false);
+    expect(hasNurseryClasses(null)).toBe(false);
+    expect(hasNurseryClasses(undefined)).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('singleSexLabel', () => {
+  it('uses the plural possessive GIAS values need', () => {
+    expect(singleSexLabel('Girls')).toBe("Girls' school");
+    expect(singleSexLabel('Boys')).toBe("Boys' school");
+  });
+
+  it('ignores case, as hasNurseryClasses does', () => {
+    expect(singleSexLabel(' girls ')).toBe("Girls' school");
+    expect(singleSexLabel('BOYS')).toBe("Boys' school");
+  });
+
+  it('returns null for a mixed or unknown school', () => {
+    expect(singleSexLabel('Mixed')).toBeNull();
+    expect(singleSexLabel(null)).toBeNull();
+    expect(singleSexLabel(undefined)).toBeNull();
+  });
+});

nextjs-app/components/HomeView.tsx

@@ -358,10 +358,14 @@ export function HomeView({ initialSchools, filters, totalSchools, howItWorks, ed
     return () => controller.abort();
   }, [resultsView, searchParams, initialSchools.schools]);
 
-  // Fetch LA averages when secondary or mixed schools are visible
+  // Fetch LA averages when secondary or mixed schools are visible. Default
+  // cache mode, never force-cache: force-cache replays any stored response
+  // without asking the server, so one failed request (a deploy restart) hid
+  // every "vs LA avg" delta in that browser for good. The API's Cache-Control
+  // already lets the browser reuse a good answer for five minutes.
   useEffect(() => {
     if (!isSecondaryView && !isMixedView) return;
-    fetchLAaverages({ cache: 'force-cache' })
+    fetchLAaverages()
       .then(data => setLaAverages(data.secondary.attainment_8_by_la))
       .catch(() => {});
   }, [isSecondaryView, isMixedView]);

nextjs-app/components/places/PlaceView.tsx

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ import Link from 'next/link';
 import type { PlaceDetail, PlaceSummary } from '@/lib/places';
 import { placeUrl, authoritySlug } from '@/lib/places';
 import type { School } from '@/lib/types';
-import { schoolUrl, formatAgeSpan } from '@/lib/utils';
+import { schoolUrl, formatAgeSpan, hasNurseryClasses } from '@/lib/utils';
 import { absoluteUrl } from '@/lib/site';
 import { TrackPlaceView } from './TrackPlaceView';
 import styles from './PlaceView.module.css';
@@ -131,9 +131,10 @@ function SchoolTable({ schools, phase }: { schools: School[]; phase: PhaseKey })
                 {showNursery && (
                   <td className={styles.attr}>
                     {/* Undefined is a mart the pipeline has not rebuilt, and
-                        false is a school without one. Neither is a "Yes", and
+                        "No Nursery Classes" or "Not applicable" is a school
-                        neither is worth two different words. */}
+                        without one. None is a "Yes", and none is worth a
-                    {s.nursery_provision ? 'Yes' : NO_VALUE}
+                        different word. */}
+                    {hasNurseryClasses(s.nursery_provision) ? 'Yes' : NO_VALUE}
                   </td>
                 )}
                 <td className={styles.attrWide}>

nextjs-app/components/school/SchoolDetailShell.tsx

@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ import { useRouter } from 'next/navigation';
 import { useComparison } from '@/hooks/useComparison';
 import { SchoolHeroMap, type SchoolHeroMapHandle } from '../SchoolHeroMap';
 import type { School, SchoolResult, SchoolCensus } from '@/lib/types';
-import { formatAgeRange, isProposedToClose } from '@/lib/utils';
+import { formatAgeRange, hasNurseryClasses, isProposedToClose, singleSexLabel } from '@/lib/utils';
 import type { NavItem } from '@/lib/schoolSections';
 import { track, getNavigationSource } from '@/lib/analytics';
 import styles from './SchoolDetailShell.module.css';
@@ -120,13 +120,14 @@ export function SchoolDetailShell({
     return () => window.removeEventListener('keydown', onKey);
   }, [sectionsOpen]);
 
-  // The chrome needs only these four. The section-shape flags are computed
+  // The chrome needs only these few. The section-shape flags are computed
   // once on the server (lib/schoolSections) and consumed by the section
   // composers; recomputing them here would duplicate that work for values
   // this component never renders.
   const phase = schoolInfo.phase ?? '';
   const isAllThrough = phase.toLowerCase() === 'all-through';
   const hasLocation = schoolInfo.latitude != null && schoolInfo.longitude != null;
+  const singleSex = singleSexLabel(schoolInfo.gender);
 
   const handleComparisonToggle = () => {
     if (isInComparison) {
@@ -211,13 +212,11 @@ export function SchoolDetailShell({
               {isAllThrough && (
                 <span className={styles.metaItem}>All-through (primary &amp; secondary)</span>
               )}
-              {schoolInfo.gender && schoolInfo.gender !== 'Mixed' && (
+              {singleSex && <span className={styles.metaItem}>{singleSex}</span>}
-                <span className={styles.metaItem}>{schoolInfo.gender}&apos;s school</span>
-              )}
               {schoolInfo.age_range && (
                 <span className={styles.metaItem}>{formatAgeRange(schoolInfo.age_range)}</span>
               )}
-              {schoolInfo.nursery_provision && (
+              {hasNurseryClasses(schoolInfo.nursery_provision) && (
                 <span className={styles.metaItem}>Nursery</span>
               )}
               {schoolInfo.has_sixth_form && (

nextjs-app/lib/types.ts

@@ -20,7 +20,8 @@ export interface School {
   religious_denomination: string | null;
   age_range: string | null;
   has_sixth_form?: boolean | null;
-  nursery_provision?: boolean | null;
+  /** GIAS text; read it through hasNurseryClasses(). */
+  nursery_provision?: string | null;
   status?: string | null; // GIAS establishment status ("Open" / "Open, but proposed to close")
 
   // Address

nextjs-app/lib/utils.ts

@@ -99,6 +99,26 @@ export function formatAgeRange(ageRange: string | null | undefined): string {
   return /^\d+–\d+$/.test(span) ? `Ages ${span}` : span;
 }
 
+/**
+ * GIAS NurseryProvision is text: "Has Nursery Classes", "No Nursery Classes"
+ * or "Not applicable". Only the first means a nursery, so never test the raw
+ * value for truthiness.
+ */
+export function hasNurseryClasses(value: string | null | undefined): boolean {
+  return value?.trim().toLowerCase() === 'has nursery classes';
+}
+
+/**
+ * "Girls' school" / "Boys' school" for a single-sex school, null otherwise.
+ * GIAS genders are plural, so the possessive is a bare apostrophe.
+ */
+export function singleSexLabel(gender: string | null | undefined): string | null {
+  const g = gender?.trim().toLowerCase();
+  if (g === 'girls') return "Girls' school";
+  if (g === 'boys') return "Boys' school";
+  return null;
+}
+
 // ============================================================================
 // Number Formatting
 // ============================================================================