The Sutton Academy, St Helens

Ofsted's report card from its 16 June 2026 inspection grades The Sutton Academy on 7 areas: 3 strong standard and 4 expected standard. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Curriculum and teaching - Strong standard. "Leaders keep abreast of the latest educational research."

Inclusion - Strong standard. "Leaders demonstrate the very highest standards of care and aspiration for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those facing other disadvantages."

Personal development and wellbeing - Strong standard. "Personal development and wellbeing are central to this school's ethos."

Achievement - Expected standard. "Most pupils at The Sutton Academy attain in line with national averages in public examinations."

Attendance and behaviour - Expected standard. "Leaders use information about attendance to identify emerging patterns."

Leadership and governance - Expected standard. "Leaders use research to find the most successful improvement strategies nationally."

Post 16 provision - Expected standard. "Leaders have an accurate understanding of the strengths and areas to strengthen in the sixth-form provision."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should ensure that the academic support strategies they use to raise achievement for pupils and students are effective across all subjects and key stages"; "Leaders should reinforce their efforts to address persistent absence in order to secure high rates of attendance for all pupils".

In its own words: "We believe that it is our duty to develop, not only a young person's knowledge of the world, but also their character. We expect all of our students to grow into kind, reflective and resilient human beings who see themselves as members of a wider community."

From the headteacher's welcome: "We are resolute in our belief that schools make a difference. Lives and the communities that they serve are transformed by them. Every child deserves the right to a world class education and it is our core purpose to raise aspirations and improve outcomes for all."

On phones, the school says: "Mobile phones should not be seen or heard and if so will be confiscated in line with our current policy."

In 2026, pupils at The Sutton Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 45.5, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 43.9 in St. Helens and 47 across England.

46% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 40% in St. Helens and 47% in England.

That is up from 43.1 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.06: pupils made about average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 38.9, against 50.5 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 11.6 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 29 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, History and Spanish.

For September 2026 entry, 298 families put The Sutton Academy as their first choice and 525 named it as one of their preferences, for 255 places offered. That is 1.2 first choices for every place. 44 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to The Sutton Academy are Rainhill High School (1.4 miles, Good, Attainment 8 50.3); St Cuthbert's Catholic Academy (1.7 miles); St Cuthbert's Catholic High School (1.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 33.9); and Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy (2.3 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 32.6).

The Sutton Academy's 2026 results were higher than 2 of these 3 schools.

The Sutton Academy is one of 14 schools run by The Challenge Academy Trust, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 47.3 in 2024/25.

Of the 263 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 82% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 44% to a further education college, 3% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.

Of the 73 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 47% went on to university or other higher education, 11% to apprenticeships and 21% into work. 7% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

38% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 6.2% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The nearest railway station is Lea Green Rail Station, about 420 metres away (roughly a 5-minute walk).

5 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Lea Green Road (adjacent), 50 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood The Sutton Academy stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In 2024/25, The Sutton Academy issued 651 suspensions, 44.9 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 4 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to The Sutton Academy are Eaves Primary School (0.5 miles), Sherdley Primary School (0.5 miles), St John Vianney Catholic Primary School (0.7 miles) and St Theresa's Catholic Primary School (0.8 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.