The Sutton Academy
Elton Head Road, St Helens, WA9 5AUOpen in maps (opens in a new tab)
The Sutton Academy is a secondary school in St Helens for ages 11 to 18. It is one of the 76 schools in St. Helens. It ranks 2nd of 5 secondary schools in St Helens. Its latest Ofsted outcome is a report card, from an inspection in June 2026.
Ofsted report card
Inspected 16 June 2026, report published 20 July 2026
Each area is graded from urgent improvement to exceptional, and safeguarding is either met or not met.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Strong standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Post-16 provision
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
What Ofsted said
From the inspection on 16 June 2026
Pupils at The Sutton Academy, including students in the sixth form, are overwhelmingly proud of their school. They are fully immersed in their learning and have high aspirations. Pupils behave with integrity and have positive relationships with each other and with staff. They know that staff care highly about them. Pupils feel a deep sense of belonging. They want to be in school and most attend regularly. Most pupils attain well in national examinations, including disadvantaged pupils and those with other barriers to learning. For pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, the school's provision is commendable. These pupils receive the highest levels of support and care to help them achieve success and be happy. They access the same rich curriculum as their peers and succeed. Pupils at The Sutton Academy show that they have been taught to manage their own behaviour. They behave with kindness to each other in lessons and at social times. One contributory factor to this is the personal development and wellbeing curriculum they follow, which has been carefully tailored to be relevant to pupils’ lives. Because of this, pupils not only learn about fundamental British values, such as tolerance and respect, they live them out daily. This curriculum also offers them a wide range of opportunities to ‘get active, get creative, get inspired'. This includes activities such as martial arts classes, charity fundraising and a wide range of visits to destinations as far as Japan and as close as the local zoo. Pupils are right to state that unwanted behaviours, such as bullying and derogatory language, are rare. Nevertheless, when incidents do occur, pupils know staff will deal with these quickly and effectively. As a result of this, they feel safe.
What the school should improve
- 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.
Exam results
GCSE results (key stage 4), 2024/25
256 pupils in the year group
A level results (key stage 5), 2024/25
19 students
Average A level grade D+, England average B-
Pupil numbers and mix
1,441 pupils on roll, with places for 1,550
Schools near The Sutton Academy
| School | Distance | Ofsted | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rainhill High School | 1 mile | Ofsted: Good | Attainment 8: 45.9 |
| St. Cuthbert's Catholic Academy | 2 miles | No Ofsted inspection | Not published |
| Tower College | 2 miles | No Ofsted inspection | Attainment 8: 56.1 |
| Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy | 2 miles | Ofsted: Requires improvement | Attainment 8: 30.2 |
| St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy | 2 miles | Ofsted judgements: Good | Attainment 8: 42.6 |
School details
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Sector
- Academy
- Trust
- THE CHALLENGE ACADEMY TRUST
- Age range
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Headteacher
- Ms Lynsey Gobin
- Phone
- 01744678859
- Address
- Elton Head Road, St Helens, WA9 5AU
- Local authority
- St. Helens
- URN
- 136141
School details from Get Information about Schools, 17 September 2026. Ofsted outcomes published to 31 August 2026. Exam results for 2024/25 from the Department for Education. Pupil mix from the school census, 2025/26.