A council (local authority) in the North West
In short: Most primary schools here are rated Good or better, about the same as across England. Results at 11 are close to England, and results at 16 were below England in 2026. Attendance is close to the England figure.
Bury at a glance
How Bury's schools compare with England, area by area.
Primary and secondary schools are ranked by Eduscope score, which weighs up results, inspections, attendance and more. Nurseries, special and independent schools aren't ranked. A high score isn't everything: always visit.
64 mainstream schools in Bury, best first
Results well above the England average.
64 first choices, 36 offers made
Met the standard at 1197%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
49 first choices, 30 offers made
Met the standard at 1175%
England 62%
Results above the England average.
19 first choices, 15 offers made
Met the standard at 1167%
England 62%
14 mainstream schools in Bury, best first
Results above the England average.
276 first choices, 226 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1649.8
England 46.2
Results above the England average.
108 first choices, 127 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1651.5
England 46.2
Manchester, M25 1JH · Academy · Secondary · Ages 11 to 16
Results close to the England average.
168 first choices, 192 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1646.7
England 46.2
52 in Bury, highest Ofsted grade first
Bury, BL9 6HR · State · Nursery · Ages 2 to 4
No published results yet.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Bury, BL8 1JD · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Bury, BL8 3NJ · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
6 in Bury, by the school's Eduscope score
Results below the England average.
43 first choices, 41 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1641.2
England 46.2
Bury, M45 8PJ · Academy · Secondary · Ages 11 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Manchester, M25 3BL · Special · Secondary · Ages 11 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
8 in Bury. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Bury, M45 8PJ · Academy · Secondary · Ages 11 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Bury, M26 3BW · Special · Primary · Ages 2 to 11
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Manchester, M25 3BL · Special · Secondary · Ages 11 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
6 in Bury. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Nr. Bury, BL8 4NG · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 23 · Boys
Independent school. Results below the England average.
Attainment 8 at 1639.7
England 46.2
Bury, BL8 2BS · Independent · Secondary · Ages 12 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Bl8 2bd · Independent · All-through · Ages 7 to 17
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Each dot is a school or nursery, coloured by its latest Ofsted grade. Point at a dot to see its name, or use the list.
Apply through the council where you live, even for a school in another council's area. Independent schools take applications directly.
Bury is a metropolitan borough in the North West with 64 mainstream primary schools and 14 mainstream secondary schools. Towns with the most schools include Bury, Prestwich and Radcliffe. Pupil numbers have fallen 2% since 2018.
From Bury council's website, checked 7 November 2026. Check the council's pages before you apply.
School admissions team: admissions@bury.gov.uk
If a date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, offers go out the next working day.
91.4%got their first-choice primary school in Bury in 2026. England: 92.4%. Ranked 99 of 151 councils. 98.1% got one of their top three.6.8% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
90.7%got their first-choice secondary school in Bury in 2026. England: 83.6%. Ranked 42 of 151 councils. 98.2% got one of their top three.8.7% were offered a secondary school in another council. England: 8.0%.
Source: DfE applications and offers, 2026. A low rate shows high demand, not poor schools.
5 of 41 primary appeals heard in Bury succeeded in 2025. 32 of 84 secondary appeals heard in Bury succeeded in 2025.
| Term | Starts | Half term | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn | 1 Sept | 26 Oct to 30 Oct | 18 Dec |
| Spring | 4 Jan | 15 Feb to 19 Feb | 25 Mar |
| Summer | 12 Apr | 31 May to 4 Jun | 21 Jul |
For schools that follow the council's dates. Academies, faith and foundation schools can set their own, and schools add training days. Source, checked 6 November 2026.
Pick a stage to see every Bury school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
All 46 inspected are Good or better.
52nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
92% Good or better. 64% met the standard at 11.
68schools
Ages 11 to 16
6 Good, 3 need to improve. 39% got grade 5 in English and maths.
23schools
2 Outstanding, 3 Good, 1 need to improve. About 7 pupils per teacher.
8schools
Here's how Bury's schools break down by type, faith and more.
The blue bar is the average Eduscope score of the primary schools in each town. The black line is the Bury average, 49.
Some areas, like parts of a bigger town, are easiest to find by postcode.
Inspections, exam results and attendance, next to the figure for England where we have it.
BuryEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 48 primaries with one.
92%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
6 of the 9 with a grade.
67%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
64%
England 62%
Close to England
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
39%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
19%
England 18%
Close to England
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
22%
Latest graded inspection for the 66 schools that have one.
86%
Good or Outstanding
Bury in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
The latest published year for each measure. Sources and years are on our data sources page.
| Measure | Bury | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 86% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 64% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 42.9 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 19% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 18.8:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £7,936 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 91% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 0% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 21% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 20% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 26% | 27% |
DfE local authority code 351, ONS code E08000002.
Bury has 141 schools and nurseries across 5 towns and villages, the biggest being Bury, Prestwich, Radcliffe and Ramsbottom.
There are 2% fewer pupils than in 2018.
22% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Bury's state schools each January.
Down 2% since 2018.
Out of every 10 primary pupils, how many get free school meals. It's a sign of family income, not of school quality.
Bury22%
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Bury has 141 schools, including 68 primary schools, 23 secondary schools, 52 nurseries, 6 independent schools, 8 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Bury on Eduscope are Chantlers Primary School, Sunny Bank Primary School, Woodhey High School. We rank each state school against schools of the same phase across England on its Ofsted inspection, results and attendance. Independent, special and nursery schools aren't ranked.
86% of inspected schools in Bury hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is below the England average of 94.8%. This includes 4 schools rated Outstanding and 53 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Bury, 64% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths at Key Stage 2. This is based on the latest published results from the Department for Education.
The average pupil-teacher ratio across schools in Bury is 18.8:1. While not a direct measure of class size, this indicates the level of teaching resource available per pupil. Across England it is 17.9:1.
The persistent absence rate across schools in Bury is 18.7%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 28,742 pupils enrolled across schools in Bury, with 16,781 in primary and 11,874 in secondary. 25.8% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 6 independent schools in Bury. Fees vary by school and age group, with day school fees typically ranging from £10,000 to £20,000 per year. You can compare all private schools in Bury on Eduscope, including ISI inspection ratings where available.
Start by considering your child's age, your location, and whether you prefer a state or independent school. Use Eduscope to compare 141 schools in Bury by Ofsted ratings, exam results, and distance. Filter by school type, gender, religious character, and admissions policy to narrow your options.
Sources: DfE school performance tables, DfE school census and workforce, DfE pupil absence, Ofsted. Photos are stand-ins.
