The Sutton Academy is a mixed secondary academy in St Helens, St Helens Council, teaching 1,441 pupils aged 11 to 18. Ofsted rated it Good at its last graded inspection in June 2022. In 2024–2025, GCSE Attainment 8 was 43.1 (England 46.1). The 2025–2026 school year runs from 1 September 2025 to 13 April 2026.

Ofsted inspection

The latest published Ofsted judgement for The Sutton Academy.

Latest inspection
Good Overall effectiveness
Quality of educationGood
Behaviour & attitudesGood
Personal developmentGood
Leadership & managementGood
Sixth formGood
Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 4 · Inspected 14 Jun 2022 · Published 17 Jul 2022
Read full Ofsted report ↗

Scale: Outstanding Good Requires improvement Inadequate

Term dates & holidays 2025–2026

Autumn, spring and summer terms, half-terms, INSET days and bank holidays for The Sutton Academy.

The Sutton Academy original calendar 2025–2026
Original calendar · source
Download PDF
The Sutton Academy interactive calendar 2025–2026
Interactive calendar
Download Term Dates 2025–2026

Interactive Calendar

September 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 1 Start of Autumn Term
October 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 27–31 Autumn Half Term
November 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
December 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 22–31 Christmas Holiday
January 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1–2 Christmas Holiday
  • 5 Start of Spring Term
February 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
  • 16–20 Spring Half Term
March 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 30–31 Easter Holiday
April 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 1–10 Easter Holiday
  • 13 Start of Summer Term
May 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 25–29 Summer Half Term
June 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
July 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 20 Start of Summer Holiday

Key dates (2025–2026)

  • Start of Autumn Term Sep 1, 2025 Term
  • Autumn Half Term Oct 27-31, 2025 Holiday
  • Christmas Holiday Dec 22, 2025 - Jan 2, 2026 Holiday
  • Start of Spring Term Jan 5, 2026 Term
  • Spring Half Term Feb 16-20, 2026 Holiday
  • Easter Holiday Mar 30 - Apr 10, 2026 Holiday
  • Start of Summer Term Apr 13, 2026 Term
  • Summer Half Term May 25-29, 2026 Holiday
  • Start of Summer Holiday Jul 20, 2026 Holiday

Exam results & performance

DfE performance tables Official results, 2024–2025 GOV.UK ↗
43.1 Attainment 8 England 46.1
39.1% Grade 5+ English & maths England 45.4%
23.33 A level average score England 35
27.8% Persistent absence England 17.8%

The measures that carry the most signal. Open a section to compare The Sutton Academy with St Helens Council and England.

Key stage 4 (GCSE) 43.1 Attainment 8 score

Year 11 results across eight qualifications, including English and maths.

This school St Helens Council England

Attainment 8 score · Average across 8 GCSEs, out of 90 43.1
St Helens Council 41.8 England 46.1 -3 vs England
Grade 5+ in English & maths · A strong pass 39.1%
St Helens Council 35.9% England 45.4% -6.3 vs England
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils 32.6
St Helens Council 30.2 England 34.9 -2.3 vs England
Disadvantage gap · Attainment 8 points; smaller is better 16.5
St Helens Council 16.8 England 15.5 +1 vs England
Disadvantaged pupils in the year group · Context for the scores above 36.3%
St Helens Council 30.7% England 28.2%
Pupils in the year group · Small cohorts swing wildly 256
16 to 18 (A level & sixth form) 23.33 A level average point score

Results for students finishing post-16 study.

This school St Helens Council England

A level average point score · Per entry, 50 = A* 23.33
St Helens Council 36.64 England 35 -11.7 vs England
A level students · Small cohorts swing wildly 19
Attendance 27.8% Persistently absent pupils

Absence across the whole school year.

This school St Helens Council England

Persistently absent pupils · Missed 10%+ of sessions; lower is better 27.8%
St Helens Council 18.1% England 17.8% +10 vs England
Overall absence · Lower is better 10.2%
St Helens Council 7% England 6.8% +3.5 vs England
What pupils do after GCSEs 83% In education, apprenticeship or work

Still in education, an apprenticeship or work a year after key stage 4.

This school St Helens Council England

In education, apprenticeship or work 83%
St Helens Council 88% England 92% -9 vs England
Same, for disadvantaged pupils 65%
St Helens Council 75% England 83% -18 vs England
What students do after 16 to 18 study 75% In education, apprenticeship or work

Destinations the year after finishing post-16 study.

This school St Helens Council England

In education, apprenticeship or work 75%
St Helens Council 74% England 79% -4 vs England
Went to higher education 29%
St Helens Council 31% England 37% -8 vs England
About this data source & caveats

Progress 8 is not published for 2024–2025. This year group missed their key stage 2 tests in 2020, so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

Attendance comparisons are pupil-weighted averages we calculate from every school’s published absence figure — the DfE absence file has no local authority or England rows of its own.

We show the headline measures only. Threshold and curriculum-policy figures — grade 4+ in English and maths, EBacc entry and points, the per-subject key stage 2 breakdown, academic and applied splits at 16 to 18 — reflect admissions and curriculum choices more than school quality, so they are left to GOV.UK. Progress measures matter most because they compare pupils with others who started at the same level; attainment on its own largely tracks a school’s intake.

Figures are the Department for Education’s official published results for The Sutton Academy. Results are suppressed where too few pupils were entered. England figures are the average for state-funded schools. “Top x%” is this school’s position among all schools in England with a published figure for that measure — the DfE does not publish league table rankings.

Source: Compare school and college performance, Department for Education. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Location & catchment area

Indicative catchment Other secondary schools

Indicative only. This is a nearest-school (Voronoi) estimate — the area closer to The Sutton Academy than to any other secondary school. Real admissions depend on the school’s own policy (straight-line distance, siblings, faith, feeder schools and available places) and change each year. Always confirm with the school and local authority admissions team.