Sutton’s state schools are in the top tenth: better results than 97% of towns in England
Across their best eight GCSEs, pupils in Sutton score 59.2 on Attainment 8, above both London’s towns (51.7) and towns in England (45.9). 63 state-funded schools are located in Sutton’s built-up area. Sutton grades A+ for schools, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results: #3 of 33 in London. Ofsted is shown, not graded.
Sutton’s secondary results beat 97% of English towns; its primary results beat 94%. 73% of the London borough’s 11-year-olds meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 62% at the average school in England and 71% across Sutton. The spread between primaries is wide: 89% at Cuddington Croft Primary School and Nursery, 35% at Wallington Primary Academy. Every school’s result ↓
Popular schools are full
25 of 56 mainstream schools have at least as many pupils as their official capacity, including Carshalton Boys Sports College, Carshalton High School for Girls, Cheam High, Glenthorne High, Greenshaw High, Oaks Park High, Sutton Grammar, Wallington County Grammar, Wallington High School for Girls and Wilson's among the secondaries. A full school gives places by its admissions rules, usually by distance after siblings. Getting a place ↓
Grammar schools in town
Sutton Grammar School, Wallington County Grammar School, Wallington High School for Girls and Wilson's School admit pupils by a test at 11. Their results count in Sutton’s School Grade, as they are state schools many local children attend. After 16 ↓
St Elphege's beats its intake
Schools with more pupils on free school meals usually get lower results. At St Elphege's RC Junior School, 22% of pupils are on free school meals and 87% meet the expected standard; a typical school in England with that intake reaches 63%. Results and intake ↓
Written from the Department for Education and Ofsted data on this page.
School Grade
Sutton grades A+ for schools
Against every town in England with results; Wales publishes none.
Primary: reading, writing and maths at 11 (73% meet the standard)Better than 94% of towns in England
Secondary: Attainment 8 and grade 5+ English and maths (59.2 and 67%)Better than 97% of towns in England
Each of Sutton’s 35 primaries: % meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (2023–25)
Each of Sutton’s 14 secondaries: Attainment 8 (2025/26)
England’s average schoolSutton’s average school
The primary figure: 35 primaries in the town, 8,188 pupils in results over three years. The secondary figure: 14 secondaries in the town, 3,145 pupils in results. Mainstream state schools only (grammar schools included); special schools, alternative provision, nurseries and 16–19 colleges are listed below but not graded. Each school’s results are compared with every school in England, then weighted by its pupils.
Map
Where Sutton’s 63 state schools are
Each school at its address, coloured by its own letter and sized by pupils. Open a school for its own page. The dashed shape is Sutton’s built-up area.
PrimarySecondarySpecial, nursery, 16–19Size: pupilsABCDNo letter
Most schools give places by distance once siblings are in, so the schools nearest a home matter more than any league table.
Results and intake
Which schools do better than their intake suggests
Schools with more pupils on free school meals tend to get lower results. The dashed line is the typical school in England for each level of free school meals; the band holds the middle two-thirds. A dot above the band is doing better than schools like it.
Primaries: KS2 reading, writing and maths against free school meals
Secondaries: Attainment 8 against free school meals
The share of pupils on free school meals runs from 1% at Sutton Grammar School to 55% at Wallington Primary Academy. Against schools with the same intake, Wilson's School does best: 87 with 6% on free school meals, where a typical school would reach 56. 27 of 34 primaries and 11 of 14 secondaries are above the line.
Free school meals: pupils eligible now, DfE January 2026 census. The typical-school line is a straight-line fit across every graded school in England. It describes; it doesn’t grade: the School Grade uses results alone.
Getting a place
How school places work in Sutton
Sutton Council handles applications for every state school in Sutton, academies included. You apply to the council where you live, even for a school in another area.
Secondary (starting at 11)Apply by 31 October of Year 6. Offers on 1 March.
Primary (starting in Reception)Apply by 15 January before the September your child starts. Offers on 16 April.
Moving mid-yearApply to the council for an in-year place; it tells you which schools have room.
When a school is full
Every school publishes its admissions rules. Children in care come first, then, at most schools, brothers and sisters of current pupils, then those who live nearest. 12 of Sutton’s 56 mainstream schools have a religious character; some of them give priority by church attendance, so check each school’s rules. Infant classes are limited to 30 by law. If you’re refused a place, you can appeal to an independent panel.
Pupils on roll as a share of the school’s official capacity. The black tick is 100%; 25 schools are at or over it.
Cheam Common Junior155%
Carshalton Boys Sports College129%
Sutton Grammar126%
Avenue incl. nursery121%
Carshalton High School for Girls116%
Cheam Fields incl. nursery115%
Glenthorne High113%
Cuddington Croft incl. nursery112%
St Cecilia's incl. nursery112%
Devonshire incl. nursery108%
Show all 55 schools
Brookfield incl. nursery107%
Cheam High107%
Wallington High School for Girls106%
Bandon Hill incl. nursery105%
Westbourne incl. nursery104%
Manor Park incl. nursery104%
Cheam Park Farm103%
Stanley Park Junior102%
Wallington County Grammar102%
Abbey incl. nursery101%
Barrow Hedges incl. nursery101%
Greenshaw High100%
St Mary's100%
Oaks Park High100%
Wilson's100%
Harris Academy Sutton100%
Robin Hood Junior100%
St Elphege's99%
Harris Junior Academy Carshalton99%
All Saints Benhilton incl. nursery99%
High View incl. nursery99%
All Saints Carshalton incl. nursery97%
Stanley Park Infants incl. nursery97%
Cheam Common Infants' incl. nursery96%
Green Wrythe incl. nursery95%
The John Fisher94%
Victor Seymour Infants' incl. nursery92%
St Philomena's92%
Culvers House incl. nursery91%
Muschamp School and Language Opportunity Base incl. nursery91%
Hackbridge incl. nursery91%
Holy Trinity90%
Green Lane incl. nursery90%
Beddington Infants' incl. nursery89%
Robin Hood Infants'89%
St Mary's incl. nursery88%
St Elphege's incl. nursery84%
Beddington Park83%
St Dunstan's Cheam incl. nursery83%
Rushy Meadow incl. nursery82%
Overton Grange82%
Tweeddale incl. nursery80%
Wood Field72%
Dorchester incl. nursery69%
Wallington incl. nursery35%
DfE register of schools (GIAS), January 2026 census. Capacity often excludes a nursery class, so a school with a nursery can show over 100%.
The schools
63 state schools in Sutton
Each school’s own letter compares its results with every state school in England of the same phase: Key Stage 2 for primaries, GCSEs for secondaries. Open a school for its results, how its letter is worked out, Ofsted and a map.
Letters of Sutton’s schoolsA30B12C4D314 without a letter
Key result: Attainment 8 and grade 5+ English and maths (GCSEs, 2025/26 provisional) for secondaries; the share meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (KS2, DfE’s three-year average) for primaries. Pupils: the January 2026 school census. No letter: an infant or first school (no KS2 tests), a new school, a small cohort DfE suppresses, or a special school, nursery or college. Independent schools aren’t included.
Ofsted
Ofsted report cards
Each school’s latest inspection; report cards replace one-word judgements as schools are re-inspected.
Outstanding 9Good 16Report card 6Ungraded inspection only 32
Ofsted stopped giving one-word judgements in 2024. Until a school is re-inspected, its last overall judgement is its most recent single grade; a school judged years ago may have changed a lot since.
Since November 2025 Ofsted gives each area of a school one of five grades (exceptional, strong standard, expected standard, needs attention, urgent improvement) and says whether safeguarding is met, instead of one overall word. 6 of Sutton’s 63 state schools have a report card so far; the others show their last inspection under the old framework. Ofsted is never part of the School Grade.
Academies are state schools run by a trust rather than the council: the trust employs the staff and can set its own curriculum and term dates. Admissions still go through the council.
Run by
Schools
Pupils
Their letters
Greenshaw Learning TrustGreenshaw High, Wallington County Grammar, Wood Field, Bandon Hill, Tweeddale, Victor Seymour Infants', Green Wrythe
7
5,109
AA+BB−DC−
Leo Academy TrustCheam Park Farm, Manor Park, Cheam Common Junior, Cheam Fields, Brookfield, Cheam Common Infants', Foresters
7
3,469
AA+A+A+AC−
Cirrus Primary Academy TrustAvenue, Barrow Hedges, Rushy Meadow, Stanley Park Infants, Wallington
5
2,578
B+ACD−
Sutton Education TrustMuschamp School and Language Opportunity Base, Dorchester, High View, Culvers House, Beddington Infants'
5
2,168
AB+B−B−
Sancta Familia Catholic Academy TrustSt Cecilia's, St Elphege's, St Elphege's
3
1,169
AA+
Cheam Academies NetworkCheam High, Oaks Park High
2
3,526
A−D
Girls' Learning TrustWallington High School for Girls, Carshalton High School for Girls
2
2,942
A+A−
Willow Learning TrustGlenthorne High, Abbey
2
2,222
AB+
Harris FederationHarris Academy Sutton, Harris Junior Academy Carshalton
2
1,652
AA−
Orchard Hill College Academy TrustCarew, The Link
2
439
—
Alternative Learning TrustWandle Valley, The Limes College
2
150
—
Carshalton Boys Sports CollegeCarshalton Boys Sports College
1
1,539
B
Wilson's SchoolWilson's
1
1,327
A+
Overton Grange SchoolOverton Grange
1
1,092
B−
Sutton Grammar School TrustSutton Grammar
1
1,061
A+
Westbourne Academy TrustWestbourne
1
656
A+
Glf SchoolsCuddington Croft
1
472
A+
Sdbe Multi-Academy TrustAll Saints Carshalton
1
432
A−
Helix Learning TrustGreen Lane
1
407
B−
Step Academy TrustBeddington Park
1
350
A
Sutton CouncilSt Philomena's, The John Fisher, Hackbridge, Devonshire, All Saints Benhilton, Stanley Park Junior, St Mary's, Robin Hood Junior, St Dunstan's Cheam, Holy Trinity, St Mary's, Robin Hood Infants', Thomas Wall Nursery, Spencer Nursery, Sutton Tuition and Reintegration Service
15
6,938
A−A−B+C+A−A−AAA−B+
After 16
Where Sutton’s teenagers go at 16
In England young people stay in education or training until 18: a sixth form, a college, or an apprenticeship.
Every state secondary in Sutton has its own sixth form. The nearest college is North East Surrey College of Technology, a further-education college 3.1 miles away.
Special schools and alternative provision in Sutton
Sutton has 3 special schools (Carew, The Link and Wandle Valley: 528 pupils) and 2 alternative provision schools, for pupils who can’t attend mainstream school for a time. A special-school place isn’t applied for like a mainstream one: for a child with an education, health and care plan (EHCP), Sutton Council names the school in the plan, after asking the family’s preference. These schools have no letter, because their results don’t compare with mainstream schools’. Their cards ↑
Sutton Council’s SEND Local Offer lists support beyond these schools.
Towns its size
3rd of 43 English towns and cities of 146,000 to 282,000
Ranked by School Grade, best first: the towns and cities either side of Sutton, and the top and bottom of the group.
Sutton’s schools are graded at least as well as any neighbour’s. Small places often use the schools within 3 km, so neighbours can share schools.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
•
Expected standard at Key Stage 2. The share of 11-year-olds who reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths together, in tests and teacher assessment at the end of primary school. We use DfE’s three-year average (2023–2025) to steady small schools.
•
Higher standard. The share working at greater depth in all three. In Sutton: 20% (England’s average school: 8%).
•
Attainment 8. A pupil’s GCSE grades across eight subjects, with English and maths counted twice, added up. 50 is roughly a grade 5 in every subject.
•
Grade 5+ in English and maths. A strong pass in both. Grade 4 is a standard pass.
•
Provisional. 2025/26 GCSE figures are DfE’s first release; revised figures follow in February, usually within a point.
•
Progress 8. Not shown: there is none for 2025/26, because these pupils sat no KS2 tests in 2020 (Covid).
•
Free school meals. Pupils eligible for free school meals now, from the January census: the usual measure of how many pupils come from low-income homes.
•
Independent schools. Not included: they publish no results comparable with state schools’.
Questions about schools in Sutton
Are schools in Sutton good?
Sutton’s state schools earn an A+ against schools across England: primary results beat 94% of towns in England; secondary results beat 97% of towns in England, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results. School places are handled by Sutton council.
What is the best secondary school in Sutton?
On 2025/26 GCSE results, Wilson's School: Attainment 8 of 86.8 and 100% with grade 5+ in English and maths, against 47.3 at the average school in England. Results are one measure; distance decides most places.
What is the best primary school in Sutton?
On Key Stage 2 results over 2023–25, Cuddington Croft Primary School and Nursery: 89% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 62% at the average school in England.
Do Sutton secondary schools have sixth forms?
Yes, all 14 do.
How do I apply for a school place in Sutton?
Through Sutton Council, for every state school including academies. Secondary applications close on 31 October (offers 1 March); primary on 15 January (offers 16 April).
How many schools in Sutton are full?
25 of 55 mainstream schools have at least as many pupils as places, on DfE’s January 2026 census. A full school still admits by its rules, usually distance after siblings.
How many state schools are in Sutton?
63 open state-funded schools are located in Sutton’s built-up area: 42 primary, 14 secondary and 7 other (special schools, alternative provision, nurseries and 16–19). Independent schools aren’t included.
Sources: DfE Get Information about Schools (16 October 2026), Key Stage 2 performance tables (2023–2025, three-year average) and Key Stage 4 (2025/26, provisional); Ofsted state-funded school inspections as at 30 September 2026 · DfE Get Information about Schools (16 October 2026), further-education and sixth-form colleges · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
