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 above England, and results at 16 were above England in 2026. Fewer pupils miss a lot of school than across England.
Trafford at a glance
How Trafford'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.
63 mainstream schools in Trafford, best first
Results well above the England average.
56 first choices, 30 offers made
Met the standard at 1190%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
96 first choices, 90 offers made
Met the standard at 1189%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
67 first choices, 60 offers made
Met the standard at 1189%
England 62%
19 mainstream schools in Trafford, best first
Results well above the England average.
265 first choices, 197 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1675.5
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
302 first choices, 215 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1679.1
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
258 first choices, 160 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1675.2
England 46.2
90 in Trafford, highest Ofsted grade first
Sale, M33 4ND · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Altrincham, WA14 3EX · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Manchester, M16 9AB · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
16 in Trafford, by the school's Eduscope score
Results well above the England average.
265 first choices, 197 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1675.5
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
302 first choices, 215 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1679.1
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
258 first choices, 160 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1675.2
England 46.2
11 in Trafford. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Sale, M33 4GY · Special · Secondary · Ages 11 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Manchester, M41 6AP · Special · Primary · Ages 2 to 11
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Timperley, WA15 6PH · Academy · Primary · Ages 2 to 11
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
10 in Trafford. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Manchester, M41 5PR · Independent · Primary · Ages 0 to 11
Independent school. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Manchester, M16 9GN · Independent · All-through · Ages 2 to 16
Independent school. Results well above the England average.
Attainment 8 at 1653.5
England 46.2
Altrincham, WA14 2LT · Independent · Primary · Ages 3 to 11
Independent school. 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.
Trafford is a metropolitan borough in the North West with 63 mainstream primary schools and 19 mainstream secondary schools. Towns with the most schools include Sale, Urmston and Altrincham. It has 7 grammar schools, which choose pupils by a test. 81.0% got their first-choice secondary school, against 83.6% across England.
From Trafford council's website, checked 7 November 2026. Check the council's pages before you apply.
School admissions team: school.admissions@trafford.gov.uk · 0161 912 5007
If a date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, offers go out the next working day.
94.5%got their first-choice primary school in Trafford in 2026. England: 92.4%. Ranked 47 of 151 councils. 99.2% got one of their top three.3.4% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
81.0%got their first-choice secondary school in Trafford in 2026. England: 83.6%. Ranked 94 of 151 councils. 95.7% got one of their top three.5.1% 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.
2 of 44 primary appeals heard in Trafford succeeded in 2025. 56 of 513 secondary appeals heard in Trafford succeeded in 2025.
Pick a stage to see every Trafford school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
17 Outstanding, 50 Good, 1 need to improve.
90nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
98% Good or better. 72% met the standard at 11.
78schools
Ages 11 to 16
4 Outstanding, 7 Good, 2 need to improve. 64% got grade 5 in English and maths.
27schools
3 Outstanding, 4 Good, 3 need to improve. About 8 pupils per teacher.
11schools
Here's how Trafford'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 Trafford average, 66.
Average primary score
70Trafford 66
Average primary score
51Trafford 66
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.
TraffordEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 48 primaries with one.
98%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
11 of the 13 with a grade.
85%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
72%
England 62%
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
64%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
13%
England 18%
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
18%
Latest graded inspection for the 72 schools that have one.
92%
Good or Outstanding
Trafford 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 | Trafford | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 92% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 72% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 57.3 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 13% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 18.0:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £7,847 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 95% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 70% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 18% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 24% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 17% | 27% |
DfE local authority code 358, ONS code E08000009.
Trafford has 192 schools and nurseries across 8 towns and villages, the biggest being Sale, Urmston, Altrincham and Stretford.
There are 6% more pupils than in 2018.
18% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Trafford's state schools each January.
Up 6% since 2018. More children can mean popular schools fill up faster.
Out of every 10 primary pupils, how many get free school meals. It's a sign of family income, not of school quality.
Trafford18%
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Trafford has 192 schools, including 78 primary schools, 27 secondary schools, 90 nurseries, 10 independent schools, 11 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Trafford on Eduscope are Park Road Academy Primary School, Sale Grammar School, Altrincham Grammar School for Boys. 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.
92% of inspected schools in Trafford hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is below the England average of 94.8%. This includes 14 schools rated Outstanding and 52 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Trafford, 72% 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 Trafford is 18.0:1. 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 Trafford is 12.6%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 43,410 pupils enrolled across schools in Trafford, with 22,271 in primary and 21,139 in secondary. 17.4% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 10 independent schools in Trafford. 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 Trafford 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 192 schools in Trafford 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.
