Sutton Oak CofE Primary School

About Sutton Oak CofE Primary School

Sutton Oak CofE Primary School sits in the middle of the pack in St. Helens, but its headline KS2 results tell a more nuanced story. The school’s proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined is 54%, which is seven percentage points below the local authority average of 61% for primary schools. That places it 34th out of 47 primaries in the borough, firmly in the bottom half. However, the picture is not uniformly weaker. In maths, 79% of pupils hit the expected standard and the average scaled score was 103, both of which are solid. Reading and writing are the drag points: only 57% reached the expected standard in reading and 71% in writing. The school also had no pupils achieving the higher standard in reading, writing and maths combined, and just 14% hit the higher bar in maths alone. So while the headline metric lags the LA average, the school’s maths performance is notably stronger than its literacy outcomes.

Academically, Sutton Oak is a school that has held a Good rating from Ofsted across both its most recent inspections, with the latest ungraded inspection in 2023 confirming it remains Good. The graded inspection in 2017 rated leadership and management, early years provision, and overall effectiveness all as Good. The school does not publish Progress 8 scores, but the KS2 data suggests that while many pupils meet expected standards in maths, reading and writing are areas where the school is working against a tougher headwind. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is high at 44.4%, well above the national average, which may partly explain the gap between the school’s outcomes and the LA average. In the North West region, Sutton Oak ranks in the 68th percentile among primary schools, and nationally it sits in the 70th percentile, meaning it is broadly in line with the median when considered against all primaries, even if it is below the St. Helens average.

The school is oversubscribed for 2025/26, with 58 applications for 38 places and 35 first-preference offers, giving a ratio of 1.53 applicants per place. It offers a nursery provision and a broad set of facilities including a forest school, sensory room, chapel, art studios and a library. Sports on offer include netball, gymnastics, tennis, athletics, swimming and cross country, and clubs include choir, art club and eco club. The SEND provision is extensive, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, speech and language needs, hearing impairment, physical disability and autistic spectrum disorder. This makes it a practical choice for families whose children need additional support, particularly given the high FSM rate and the school’s Church of England character. For parents prioritising strong maths outcomes and a supportive SEND framework over headline reading and writing scores, Sutton Oak is a realistic local option, though those seeking top-tier literacy results may want to look at higher-ranked peers in the borough.

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