A region of England
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 close to England in 2026. Attendance is close to the England figure.
North West at a glance
How North West's schools compare with England, area by area.
Councils run admissions, so this is the best way to narrow things down. Apply through the council where you live.
| Council | Schools and nurseries | First choice, primary | First choice, secondary | Secondary, another council |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackburn with Darwen | 135 | 89.3% | 78.9% | 4.4% |
| Blackpool | 86 | 93.9% | 84.9% | 11.2% |
| Bolton | 220 | 89.5% | 87.1% | 1.2% |
| Bury | 141 | 91.4% | 90.7% | 8.7% |
| Cheshire East | 319 | 92.3% | 93.1% | 3.7% |
| Cheshire West and Chester | 314 | 92.3% | 95.0% | 6.7% |
| Cumberland | 244 | 98.2% | 95.3% | 2.9% |
| Halton | 108 | 93.4% | 96.2% | 4.0% |
| Knowsley | 106 | 86.6% | 78.1% | 39.2% |
| Lancashire | 1,101 | 91.3% | 87.1% | 3.7% |
| Liverpool | 318 | 88.6% | 68.1% | 6.5% |
| Manchester | 319 | 95.0% | 77.1% | 10.2% |
| Oldham | 205 | 92.0% | 75.2% | 3.6% |
| Rochdale | 186 | 89.2% | 86.8% | 10.0% |
| Salford | 223 | 91.1% | 85.9% | 11.5% |
| Sefton | 174 | 91.4% | 89.0% | 3.2% |
| St Helens | 122 | 90.3% | 93.3% | 11.6% |
| Stockport | 226 | 94.1% | 79.9% | 8.3% |
| Tameside | 172 | 95.4% | 86.7% | 5.9% |
| Trafford | 192 | 94.5% | 81.0% | 5.1% |
| Warrington | 169 | 91.9% | 88.9% | 3.3% |
| Westmorland and Furness | 213 | 96.1% | 96.4% | 3.8% |
| Wigan | 244 | 88.7% | 91.1% | 5.6% |
| Wirral | 223 | 95.3% | 95.3% | 3.8% |
92.0%got their first-choice primary school in the North West in 2026. England: 92.4%. 98.2% got one of their top three.3.2% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
85.7%got their first-choice secondary school in the North West in 2026. England: 83.6%. 95.9% got one of their top three.6.5% 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.
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.
2,438 mainstream schools in the North West, best first
Results well above the England average.
39 first choices, 29 offers made
Met the standard at 1197%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
43 first choices, 25 offers made
Met the standard at 1196%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
13 first choices, 10 offers made
Met the standard at 1192%
England 62%
456 mainstream schools in the North West, 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
2,249 in the North West, highest Ofsted grade first
Carlisle, CA5 7NY · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Liverpool, L8 7QA · State · Nursery · Ages 2 to 5
No published results yet.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Lytham St Annes, FY8 1DR · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
362 in the North West, 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
372 in the North West. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Liverpool, L25 6EE · Special · All-through · Ages 3 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Preston, PR1 6AU · Special · Primary · Ages 2 to 11
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Kirby, L32 9PW · Special · 16+ · Ages 16 to 25
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
336 in the North West. 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.
Lancashire, PR5 6EP · Independent · All-through · Ages 9 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Kendal, LA9 5EZ · Independent · All-through · Ages 7 to 19 · Boys
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Pick a stage to see every North West school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
254 Outstanding, 1,590 Good, 13 need to improve.
2,249nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
96% Good or better. 61% met the standard at 11.
2,795schools
Ages 11 to 16
30 Outstanding, 200 Good, 40 need to improve. 44% got grade 5 in English and maths.
909schools
81 Outstanding, 145 Good, 25 need to improve. About 8 pupils per teacher.
372schools
Here's how North West's schools break down by type, faith and more.
Inspections, exam results and attendance, next to the figure for England where we have it.
North WestEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 1,657 primaries with one.
96%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
230 of the 270 with a grade.
85%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
61%
England 62%
Close to England
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
44%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
18%
England 18%
Close to England
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
29%
Latest graded inspection for the 2,341 schools that have one.
93%
Good or Outstanding
Each square is 1% of schools.
North West 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 | North West | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 93% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 61% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 45.3 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 18% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 17.8:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £8,263 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 89% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 54% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 22% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 19% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 30% | 27% |
North West has 5,760 schools and nurseries.
There are 4% more pupils than in 2018, but numbers have fallen since 2025.
29% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in the North West's state schools each January.
Up 4% 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.
North West29%
Apply through your local council, even for academies and faith schools.
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
North West has 5,760 schools, including 2795 primary schools, 909 secondary schools, 2249 nurseries, 336 independent schools, 372 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in the North West on Eduscope are Yarlside Academy, Delamere CofE Primary Academy, Crawford Village Primary 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.
93% of inspected schools in the North West hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is below the England average of 94.8%. This includes 286 schools rated Outstanding and 1894 rated Good.
Across primary schools in the North West, 61% 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 the North West is 17.8:1. 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 the North West is 18.3%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 1,135,316 pupils enrolled across schools in the North West, with 635,292 in primary and 493,147 in secondary. 29.7% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 336 independent schools in the North West. 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 the North West 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 5,760 schools in the North West 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.
