The Sutton Academy
Secondary · Academy sponsor led · Mixed · St. Helens
Elton Head Road, St Helens, WA9 5AU
62
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Good
Graded 14/06/2022
Application demand
97%
1st preference success · Oversubscribed
Attendance
89.8%
27.8% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
1,441
Capacity used
Nearly full93%
1,550 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
97%
1st preference success rate
251 of 259 families who put it first got an offer
254
Places offered
503
Total applications
2.0
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 259 | 251 | ● 97% |
| 2nd preference | 145 | 3 | ● 2% |
| 3rd preference | 99 | 0 | ● 0% |
| Total | 503 | 254 | 50% |
1st preference success by year
St. Helens lets families list 3 preferences. 8 applications came from outside the council area (0 offered). Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Details
- Type
- Academy sponsor led
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Lynsey Gobin
- Address
- Elton Head Road, St Helens, WA9 5AU
- Phone
- 01744678859
- Local authority
- St. Helens
- Ward / constituency
- Bold & Lea Green · St Helens South and Whiston
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 136141
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 39% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 5% | — | — |
| SEN support | 19% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 5 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: THE CHALLENGE ACADEMY TRUST
1,441 pupils · 1,550 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 26
16 June 2026
S5 Inspection · report card
Inclusion Strong standard Achievement Expected standard Safeguarding standards Met Curriculum and teaching Strong standard Attendance and behaviour Expected standard Leadership and governance Expected standard Early years Not applicable Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard Post-16 provision Expected standard - 22
14 June 2022
Full graded inspection
Good overall effectivenessSixth form Good Personal development Good Quality of education Good Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Good Leadership and management Good
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 1,363 pupils
Attendance
89.8%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
10.2%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
27.8%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
4.9%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
6.3%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
GCSE results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 43.1 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | -0.06 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 40% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 56% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 3.74 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
A-level results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 25.32 | — | — |
Average grade: C- (England B-)
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 43.1 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 39.1% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 55.1% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 34.8% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.74 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 256 | — |
How different pupils progress (GCSE, 2023/2024)
Progress 8 by group. 0 is the national average; above 0 means pupils do better than similar children elsewhere.
A-level results over time
Average points per entry by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 23.33 | 35 |
| Average grade | D+ | — |
| AAB or better (2 facilitating) | 0% | 17% |
| A-level students | 19 | — |
Results by subject
Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.
GCSE
Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Literature | 263 | 8% | 35% | 48% | |
| English Language | 255 | 21% | 48% | 64% | |
| Mathematics | 254 | 18% | 48% | 64% | |
| Combined Science | 186 | 11% | 40% | 61% | |
| History | 121 | 23% | 47% | 59% | |
| Geography | 114 | 18% | 46% | 53% | |
| Spanish | 93 | 20% | 57% | 74% | |
| Physics | 71 | 7% | 37% | 41% | |
| Biology | 69 | 7% | 35% | 41% | |
| Chemistry | 55 | 15% | 42% | 55% | |
| Food Preparation & Nutrition | 55 | 9% | 55% | 65% | |
| Physical Education | 45 | 18% | 56% | 67% |
A level
| Subject | Entries | A* | A*–A | A*–B | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Psychology | 11 | 0% | 0% | 36% | |
| English Language and Literature | 6 | 0% | 0% | 17% | |
| Biology | 5 | 0% | 0% | 0% | |
| History | 4 | 0% | 0% | 0% | |
| Mathematics | 4 | 0% | 0% | 0% | |
| Chemistry | 3 | 0% | 0% | 0% | |
| Design and Technology (Product Design) | 3 | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Oxbridge
No Cambridge applications recorded for this school in 2020–2025.
Where students go next
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Higher education (university) | 40% | — | — |
| Apprenticeships | 7% | — | — |
| Any education or training | 45% | — | — |
Oxford/Cambridge application numbers aren't published per school in official data, so university progression is shown instead.
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through St. Helens council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
Admissions policy: Non-selective. Check the school's own admissions rules on its website.
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.