The Sutton Academy
- Secondary
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages 11 to 18
URN 136141 · St. Helens · THE CHALLENGE ACADEMY TRUST
Inspection
Ofsted management information, as at 30 September 2026.
Latest report card inspection
16 June 2026- 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 standards
- Met
Full inspection (section 5)
Report cards, used from 10 November 2025, grade each area on a five-point scale and give no overall grade. Safeguarding is met or not met.
Earlier inspection, different framework
Earlier graded inspection
14 June 2022Overall effectiveness
Good
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form provision
- Good
- Safeguarding is effective
- Yes
Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 4
Under the earlier framework, inspections gave an overall effectiveness grade.
Read the reports on Ofsted’s website. Source: Ofsted, State-funded school inspections and outcomes: management information.
Attendance
Against St. Helens and England, secondary schools.
Overall absence
2024/2510.2%
- St. Helens
- 9.3%
- England
- 8.4%
1.8 percentage points higher than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | St. Helens | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | 5.5% | 5.5% | 5.5% |
| 2018/19 | 5.6% | 5.5% | 5.5% |
| 2020/21 | 6.6% | 6.9% | 5.5% |
| 2021/22 | 10.7% | 10.5% | 9.0% |
| 2022/23 | 10.0% | 9.3% | 9.0% |
| 2023/24 | 10.3% | 9.8% | 8.9% |
| 2024/25 | 10.2% | 9.3% | 8.4% |
Sessions missed for any reason, as a share of all possible sessions in the school year. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25.
Persistent absence
2024/2527.8%
- St. Helens
- 24.7%
- England
- 23.4%
4.4 percentage points higher than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | St. Helens | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | 15.1% | 13.7% | 13.9% |
| 2018/19 | 14.9% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 2020/21 | 19.2% | 19.3% | 14.8% |
| 2021/22 | 35.4% | 32.4% | 27.7% |
| 2022/23 | 28.7% | 25.9% | 26.5% |
| 2023/24 | 27.1% | 27.0% | 25.6% |
| 2024/25 | 27.8% | 24.7% | 23.4% |
Pupils who missed 10% or more of their possible sessions, as a share of pupils. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25.
Severe absence
2024/254.9%
- St. Helens
- 5.1%
- England
- 3.9%
1.0 percentage point higher than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | St. Helens | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | 1.8% | 1.6% | 1.2% |
| 2018/19 | 1.3% | 1.7% | 1.3% |
| 2020/21 | 2.5% | 2.3% | 1.5% |
| 2021/22 | 3.5% | 4.8% | 2.7% |
| 2022/23 | 4.8% | 4.4% | 3.4% |
| 2023/24 | 5.8% | 5.0% | 3.8% |
| 2024/25 | 4.9% | 5.1% | 3.9% |
Pupils who missed 50% or more of their possible sessions, as a share of pupils. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25.
Suspensions and permanent exclusions
Against St. Helens and England, secondary schools.
Suspensions per 100 pupils
2024/2544.87
- St. Helens
- 31.76
- England
- 21.24
23.63 higher than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | St. Helens | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | 4.66 | 12.14 | 10.13 |
| 2018/19 | 5.81 | 9.92 | 10.75 |
| 2019/20 | 4.98 | 7.37 | 7.43 |
| 2020/21 | 4.64 | 8.85 | 8.48 |
| 2021/22 | 13.55 | 13.60 | 13.96 |
| 2022/23 | 32.96 | 21.47 | 18.90 |
| 2023/24 | 46.47 | 32.09 | 22.61 |
| 2024/25 | 44.87 | 31.76 | 21.24 |
Suspensions in the school year for every 100 pupils on roll. One pupil can be suspended more than once. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England, 2024/25.
Permanent exclusions per 100 pupils
2024/250.28
- St. Helens
- 0.39
- England
- 0.23
0.05 higher than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | St. Helens | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | 0.25 | 0.06 | 0.20 |
| 2018/19 | 0.25 | 0.09 | 0.20 |
| 2019/20 | 0.16 | 0.13 | 0.13 |
| 2020/21 | 0.15 | 0.08 | 0.10 |
| 2021/22 | 0.29 | 0.21 | 0.16 |
| 2022/23 | 0.35 | 0.24 | 0.22 |
| 2023/24 | 0.41 | 0.39 | 0.25 |
| 2024/25 | 0.28 | 0.39 | 0.23 |
Permanent exclusions in the school year for every 100 pupils on roll. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England, 2024/25.
Key stage 4 results
Against St. Helens and England, secondary schools.
Attainment 8
2025/26 (provisional)45.5
- St. Helens
- 44.5
- England
- 47.4
1.9 lower than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | St. Helens | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | Not published | 46.4 | 49.8 |
| 2022/23 | Not published | 43.3 | 47.2 |
| 2023/24 | 43.1 | 43.6 | 46.9 |
| 2024/25 | 43.1 | 42.9 | 47.1 |
| 2025/26 (provisional) | 45.5 | 44.5 | 47.4 |
The average of pupils' points across eight GCSE-level qualifications, with English and maths counted twice. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Key stage 4 performance, 2025/26.
English and maths: grade 4 or above
2025/26 (provisional)67%
- St. Helens
- 63%
- England
- 66%
1 percentage point higher than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | St. Helens | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | Not published | 65% | 70% |
| 2022/23 | Not published | 59% | 67% |
| 2023/24 | 56% | 60% | 67% |
| 2024/25 | 55% | 58% | 66% |
| 2025/26 (provisional) | 67% | 63% | 66% |
Pupils at the end of key stage 4 with grade 4 or above in both English and maths. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Key stage 4 performance, 2025/26.
English and maths: grade 5 or above
2025/26 (provisional)46%
- St. Helens
- 42%
- England
- 48%
2 percentage points lower than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | St. Helens | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | Not published | 45% | 51% |
| 2022/23 | Not published | 38% | 46% |
| 2023/24 | 40% | 39% | 47% |
| 2024/25 | 39% | 37% | 47% |
| 2025/26 (provisional) | 46% | 42% | 48% |
Pupils at the end of key stage 4 with grade 5 or above in both English and maths. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Key stage 4 performance, 2025/26.
Pupils
Against St. Helens and England, secondary schools.
Eligible for free school meals
2024/2537.5%
- St. Helens
- 29.1%
- England
- 25.8%
11.7 percentage points higher than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | St. Helens | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | 33.5% | 24.5% | 20.9% |
| 2022/23 | 33.7% | 26.1% | 22.7% |
| 2023/24 | 35.1% | 27.7% | 24.1% |
| 2024/25 | 37.5% | 29.1% | 25.8% |
Pupils known to be eligible for free school meals on census day in January. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Schools, pupils and their characteristics, 2024/25.
SEN support
2024/2518.9%
- St. Helens
- 17.7%
- England
- 13.4%
5.5 percentage points higher than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | St. Helens | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | 16.2% | 16.0% | 11.9% |
| 2022/23 | 18.6% | 16.6% | 12.4% |
| 2023/24 | 18.7% | 17.5% | 12.9% |
| 2024/25 | 18.9% | 17.7% | 13.4% |
Pupils receiving special educational needs support without an education, health and care plan. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Schools, pupils and their characteristics, 2024/25.
Education, health and care plan
2024/253.5%
- St. Helens
- 4.6%
- England
- 3.1%
0.4 percentage points higher than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | St. Helens | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | 1.1% | 2.2% | 2.2% |
| 2022/23 | 1.7% | 2.9% | 2.4% |
| 2023/24 | 3.1% | 3.6% | 2.7% |
| 2024/25 | 3.5% | 4.6% | 3.1% |
Pupils with an education, health and care plan. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Schools, pupils and their characteristics, 2024/25.
First language other than English
2024/255.8%
- St. Helens
- 5.4%
- England
- 19.2%
13.4 percentage points lower than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | St. Helens | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | 3.4% | 3.7% | 17.5% |
| 2022/23 | 3.8% | 4.3% | 18.1% |
| 2023/24 | 4.9% | 4.9% | 18.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.8% | 5.4% | 19.2% |
Pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Schools, pupils and their characteristics, 2024/25.
Teachers
Against St. Helens and England, secondary schools.
Pupils per qualified teacher
2025/2615.8
- St. Helens
- 16.8
- England
- 17.3
1.5 lower than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | St. Helens | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | 13.9 | 16.4 | 16.5 |
| 2018/19 | 14.3 | 16.1 | 16.8 |
| 2019/20 | 15.3 | 16.8 | 17.2 |
| 2020/21 | 16.7 | 17.1 | 17.1 |
| 2021/22 | 15.5 | 16.7 | 17.1 |
| 2022/23 | 29.8 | 17.4 | 17.2 |
| 2023/24 | 15.5 | 16.6 | 17.4 |
| 2024/25 | 15.3 | 16.7 | 17.3 |
| 2025/26 | 15.8 | 16.8 | 17.3 |
Full-time equivalent pupils for each full-time equivalent qualified teacher. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, School workforce in England, 2025/26.
Teacher sickness absence
2024/255.9 days
- St. Helens
- 6.2 days
- England
- 5.0 days
0.9 days higher than England.
Compared with all state-funded schools: DfE publishes this measure for all schools, not by phase.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | St. Helens | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | 3.4 days | 5.4 days | 4.0 days |
| 2018/19 | 3.1 days | 5.1 days | 4.0 days |
| 2019/20 | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| 2020/21 | 3.4 days | 4.5 days | 3.9 days |
| 2021/22 | 9.0 days | 5.8 days | 6.3 days |
| 2022/23 | 4.6 days | 4.8 days | 5.2 days |
| 2023/24 | 4.7 days | 5.2 days | 5.3 days |
| 2024/25 | 5.9 days | 6.2 days | 5.0 days |
Days lost to sickness absence in the school year, averaged across all teachers. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, School workforce in England, 2024/25.
Finance
Academies report their accounts as part of their trust, so DfE publishes no school-level balance for this school. The trust’s figures are in DfE’s Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool.
See this school in the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool
About the school
- Pupils on roll
- 1,441
- Capacity
- 1,550
- Type
- Academy sponsor led
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11 to 18
- Sixth form
- Has a sixth form
- Admissions
- Non-selective
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE CHALLENGE ACADEMY TRUST
- Opened
- 1 September 2010
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Constituency
- St Helens South and Whiston
- Deprivation of the area (IDACI)
- Decile 1 of 10 (1 is the most deprived tenth of neighbourhoods)
Address: Elton Head Road, St Helens, Merseyside, WA9 5AU
Website: www.thesuttonacademy.org.uk/
Telephone: 01744678859
Sources and corrections
Every figure on this page names its source and period. This release was built on 20 October 2026.
- Department for Education: Get Information about Schools: establishment data (GIAS establishment extract 2026-10-20)
- Ofsted: State-funded school inspections and outcomes: management information (Latest inspections as at 2026-09-30; All inspections, 2018/19; All inspections, 2019/20; All inspections, 2020/21; All inspections, 2021/22; All inspections, 2022/23; All inspections, 2023/24; All inspections, 2024/25; All inspections, 2025/26)
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Pupil absence in schools in England (absence-3term-school, 2013/14 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id])
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England (exc-school, 2006/07 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; exc-ap-school, 2013/14 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; exc-geography, 2006/07 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; exc-ap-geography, 2013/14 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id])
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Key stage 2 attainment (ks2-school, 2022/23 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; ks2-geography, 2015/16 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id])
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Key stage 4 performance (ks4-school, 2023/24 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id]; ks4-geography, 2018/19 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id])
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Schools, pupils and their characteristics (School census, January 2022 (performance tables, 2021 to 2022); School census, January 2023 (performance tables, 2022 to 2023); School census, January 2024 (performance tables, 2023 to 2024); School census, January 2025 (performance tables, 2024 to 2025))
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: School workforce in England (ptr-school, 2010/11 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id]; ptr-geography, 2010/11 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id]; sickness-school, 2009/10 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; sickness-geography, 2009/10 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id])
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: English indices of deprivation 2025: Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (English indices of deprivation 2025, File 7 (2021 LSOAs))
Spotted something wrong? Report a correction with the school’s URN (136141). Fixes go out in the next weekly release.