The Royal Sutton School

John Willmott School is performing well overall, rated as good across all inspected areas. The school benefits from a broad and balanced curriculum, with a strong emphasis on personal development. Staff create a welcoming environment and establish clear expectations, fostering positive attitudes among pupils. Despite experiencing low published outcomes, the school's leadership is noted for effectively sizing the curriculum to promote pupil progress. The school has shown significant improvement since its conversion to an academy in 2019 and this is reflected in students' pride in their school.

Strengths

• Broad and balanced curriculum with personal development at its core.
• Strong focus on creating a welcoming environment for pupils.
• Effective support for pupils at an early stage of reading.
• Pupils demonstrate positive attitudes and respect in discussions.
• Leaders ensure ambitious curriculum planning is in place.

Areas for Improvement

• Variable adaptation of the curriculum for pupils with SEND.
• Inconsistent checking of pupils' understanding before moving on to new learning.
• Behavior management expectations not consistently followed by all staff.

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 Royal Sutton School attended 88.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 37.1% 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, 13.3% of pupils at The Royal Sutton School 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 Royal Sutton School had 15.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.7% 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, 26.1% of pupils at The Royal Sutton School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.1% 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 Royal Sutton School received £8,251 and spent £8,725 for each of its 977 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £724,000 (-£741 per pupil).

Across all 23 schools of The Arthur Terry Learning Partnership, income was £7,703 and spending £8,151 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 Sutton Coldfield · Birmingham local authority: places and applications

The Royal Sutton School is part of The Arthur Terry Learning Partnership, which runs 23 schools. The nearest others:

• Mere Green Primary School Sutton Coldfield
• The Arthur Terry School Sutton Coldfield
• Paget Primary School Birmingham
• Osborne Primary School Birmingham
• Hill West Primary School Sutton Coldfield
• Curdworth Primary School Sutton Coldfield
• Stockland Green School Birmingham
• Slade Primary School Birmingham
• Brookvale Primary School Birmingham
• Deykin Avenue Junior and Infant School Birmingham

What is The Royal Sutton School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Royal Sutton School is Good, from an inspection in January 2024.

When was The Royal Sutton School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Royal Sutton School was last inspected in January 2024.

How many pupils does The Royal Sutton School have?

The Royal Sutton School has 966 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Royal Sutton School cover?

The Royal Sutton School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are The Royal Sutton School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 39.8, and 32% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Royal Sutton School?

The Royal Sutton School is at Reddicap Heath Road, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, B75 7DY.