The Sutton Academy

The Sutton Academy is a large secondary school in a deprived area of St Helens, part of The Challenge Academy Trust, with a higher-than-average proportion of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND. Inspectors found the school to be performing well overall, with curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and personal development and wellbeing all judged at the strong standard. Pupils benefit from a rich, ambitious curriculum that is carefully adapted to meet individual needs, and those with SEND receive exemplary support to access the same curriculum as their peers. Behaviour is excellent, attendance is improving, and pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain through an extensive personal development programme and careers education. However, achievement and attendance remain at the expected standard. Published examination results show that most pupils attain in line with national averages, but a group of pupils who joined the school later in their education did not benefit as much from the school's high-quality provision. Disadvantaged pupils' outcomes, while close to average, still lag behind national non-disadvantaged peers. Attendance figures, though improving, remain below national averages, and persistent absence is reducing but still above average. In the sixth form, students sometimes do not attain as well in A-level examinations, particularly those with above-average prior attainment. Leaders are committed to continuous improvement, using research to inform strategies and supporting staff well. Staff morale is high, and parents trust the school. The next steps identified by inspectors are to ensure that academic support strategies are effective across all subjects and key stages, and to reinforce efforts to address persistent absence.

Strengths

• Strong curriculum and teaching, with research-informed approaches consistently embedded across all subjects
• High-quality, inclusive provision for pupils with SEND, ensuring equal access to the full curriculum
• Personal development and wellbeing are central to the school's ethos, with a tailored curriculum and wide range of opportunities
• Pupils are polite, cooperative, and behave with kindness and respect; bullying is rare and dealt with effectively
• Effective pastoral support and a strong sense of belonging among pupils
• Extensive careers education programme with meaningful work-related experiences and mock interviews
• Leaders are highly supportive of staff and consider workload and wellbeing, resulting in high staff morale
• Strong leadership and governance, with trustees fulfilling statutory responsibilities and parents trusting leaders
• Pupils are very well prepared for life in modern Britain, with a deep knowledge of fundamental British values
• Recent improvements in attendance, with persistent absence reducing for all pupils

Areas for Improvement

• Published examination results include a group of late-joining pupils who did not benefit as much from the school's high-quality curriculum and teaching
• Disadvantaged pupils' attainment remains below national non-disadvantaged peers, though close to national averages for disadvantaged pupils
• Overall absence and persistent absence remain above national averages, despite recent improvements
• A-level attainment is below national averages, particularly for students with above-average prior attainment from Year 11
• Academic support strategies need to be more effective across all subjects and key stages to raise achievement

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at The Sutton Academy attended 89.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 27.8% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 10.5% of pupils at The Sutton Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 4 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 The Sutton Academy had 15.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.2% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 20.3% of pupils at The Sutton Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.3% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 The Sutton Academy received £8,522 and spent £8,632 for each of its 1,452 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £304,000 (£209 per pupil).

Across all 14 schools of The Challenge Academy Trust, income was £7,634 and spending £7,638 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in St Helens · St. Helens local authority: places and applications

The Sutton Academy is part of The Challenge Academy Trust, which runs 14 schools. The nearest others:

• Penketh High School Warrington
• Great Sankey Primary School Warrington
• Penketh South Community Primary School Warrington
• Dallam Community Primary School Warrington
• Meadowside Community Primary and Nursery School Warrington
• Beamont Collegiate Academy Warrington
• Priestley College Warrington
• Padgate Academy Warrington
• Sir Thomas Boteler Church of England High School Warrington
• Bridgewater High School Warrington

What is The Sutton Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Sutton Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was The Sutton Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

The Sutton Academy was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does The Sutton Academy have?

The Sutton Academy has 1,441 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Sutton Academy cover?

The Sutton Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are The Sutton Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 45.5, and 46% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Sutton Academy?

The Sutton Academy is at Elton Head Road, St Helens, Merseyside, WA9 5AU.