- Ofsted:Outstanding
- Grammar
- Has a sixth form
Results well above the North West average, low absence.
265 first choices, 197 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1675.5
North West 45.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 1,352
- Pupils per teacher
- 17.6
Secondary schools in the North West
All 909 secondary schools in the North West. Narrow them down, then shortlist up to four to compare.
- Ofsted:Outstanding
- Boys
- Grammar
- Has a sixth form
Results well above the North West average, low absence.
302 first choices, 215 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1679.1
North West 45.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 1,432
- Pupils per teacher
- 17.9
- Ofsted:Outstanding
- Catholic
- Girls
- Grammar
- Has a sixth form
Results well above the North West average, low absence.
258 first choices, 160 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1675.2
North West 45.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 1,075
- Pupils per teacher
- 16.8
Altrincham Grammar School for Girls
Altrincham, WA14 2NL · Academy · Secondary · Ages 11 to 18 · Girls
- Ofsted:Outstanding
- Girls
- Grammar
- Has a sixth form
Results well above the North West average, low absence.
281 first choices, 209 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1677.8
North West 45.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 1,381
- Pupils per teacher
- 17.6
- Ofsted:Outstanding
- Muslim
- Girls
- Has a sixth form
Results well above the North West average, low absence.
250 first choices, 120 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1668.7
North West 45.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 866
- Pupils per teacher
- 15.6
- Ofsted:Exceptional in every area
- Grammar
- Has a sixth form
Results well above the North West average, low absence.
219 first choices, 181 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1675.5
North West 45.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 1,087
- Pupils per teacher
- 17.8
- Ofsted:Outstanding
- Catholic
- Girls
- Grammar
- Has a sixth form
Results well above the North West average, low absence.
166 first choices, 156 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1665.6
North West 45.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 1,004
- Pupils per teacher
- 16.4
- Ofsted:Outstanding
- Grammar
- Has a sixth form
Results well above the North West average, low absence.
231 first choices, 175 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1670.8
North West 45.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 1,496
- Pupils per teacher
- 17.6
- Ofsted:Strong standard or better
- Catholic
- Boys
- Grammar
- Has a sixth form
Results well above the North West average, low absence.
223 first choices, 149 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1672.3
North West 45.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 1,096
- Pupils per teacher
- 18.9
- Ofsted:Outstanding
- Girls
- Grammar
- Has a sixth form
Results well above the North West average, low absence.
199 first choices, 178 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1670.9
North West 45.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 1,224
- Pupils per teacher
- 17.2
- Ofsted:Strong standard in every area
- Grammar
- Has a sixth form
Results well above the North West average, low absence.
237 first choices, 169 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1675.6
North West 45.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 1,137
- Pupils per teacher
- 16.7
- Ofsted:Outstanding
- Muslim
- Boys
- Has a sixth form
Results well above the North West average, low absence.
233 first choices, 115 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1662.6
North West 45.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 746
- Pupils per teacher
- 18.4
- Ofsted:Outstanding in every area
- Has a sixth form
Results well above the North West average, low absence.
415 first choices, 262 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1659.3
North West 45.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 1,690
- Pupils per teacher
- 15.4
- Ofsted:Outstanding
- Muslim
- Girls
Results well above the North West average, low absence.
141 first choices, 120 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1661.7
North West 45.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 607
- Pupils per teacher
- 15.1
- Ofsted:Strong standard or better
- Faith school
- Grammar
- Has a sixth form
Results well above the North West average, low absence.
183 first choices, 164 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1671.6
North West 45.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 1,294
- Pupils per teacher
- 17.4
- Ofsted:Exceptional in every area
- Muslim
- Girls
Results well above the North West average, low absence.
214 first choices, 139 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1661.8
North West 45.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 659
- Pupils per teacher
- 14.8
- Ofsted:Outstanding
Results well above the North West average, low absence.
234 first choices, 168 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1655.5
North West 45.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 932
- Pupils per teacher
- 16.9
- Ofsted:Outstanding
- Church of England
- Has a sixth form
Results well above the North West average, low absence.
611 first choices, 232 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1657.0
North West 45.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 1,702
- Pupils per teacher
- 16.5
- Ofsted:Outstanding
- Church of England
- Girls
- Has a sixth form
Results well above the North West average, low absence.
258 first choices, 185 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1657.5
North West 45.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 1,179
- Pupils per teacher
- 15.5
- Ofsted:Expected standard or better
- Church of England
Results well above the North West average, low absence.
190 first choices, 179 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1656.2
North West 45.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 958
- Pupils per teacher
- 16.1
- Ofsted:Outstanding
Results well above the North West average, low absence.
226 first choices, 165 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1655.4
North West 45.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 804
- Pupils per teacher
- 17.7
- Ofsted:Outstanding
- Girls
Results well above the North West average, low absence.
159 first choices, 161 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1655.4
North West 45.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 799
- Pupils per teacher
- 17.2
- Ofsted:Outstanding
- Catholic
Results well above the North West average, low absence.
201 first choices, 171 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1653.6
North West 45.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 911
- Pupils per teacher
- 15.9
- Ofsted:Outstanding
- Catholic
Results well above the North West average, low absence.
192 first choices, 159 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1656.0
North West 45.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 829
- Pupils per teacher
- 17.4
- Secondary schools909including 281 special
- Attainment 8 at 1645.3England 46.2
- Good or Outstanding85%of graded schools ·
- Faith schools217 of 90998 Catholic, 44 Church of England
- With a nursery class66take children from 2 or 3
- Free school meals31.7%of pupils get them
The big picture
How the North West's secondary schools spread out
Each dot is one school. Hover over a dot to see which school it is.
Ofsted grades in the North West
The last full grade for each school Ofsted has graded.
- Outstanding: 30 of 270
- Good: 200 of 270
- Requires improvement: 37 of 270
- Inadequate: 3 of 270
Before you apply
Four things worth knowing in the North West
Some are faith schools.
217 of the 909 secondary schools in the North West have a religious character. When they're full, they can put families of their faith first, so check each school's rules.
Show schools with no religious characterApply by 31 October.
Apply to your council in Year 6 for a Year 7 place. Offers come out on 1 March.
Check how old the Ofsted grade is.
Some grades are many years old. Each school's page shows the date of its last inspection and what's changed since.
Show Good or OutstandingList a school you're likely to get.
Popular schools fill up from the families who live closest. Add your postcode to see which schools are nearest, and put one of them on your form.
Add my postcode
About these schools
Secondary schools in the North West, explained
There are 909 secondary schools in the North West, teaching 532,235 children. 115 are run by the council and 421 are academies or free schools. Among them are 281 special and 265 independent schools.
85% of the mainstream state schools Ofsted has graded are Good or Outstanding, against 94.8% across England. 30 of them are Outstanding, though some grades are several years old, so check the date on each school's page.
Pupils in North West scored an average Attainment 8 of 45.3 across their best eight GCSEs, against 46.2 across England.
31.7% of pupils get free school meals. Schools here spend £9,145 a year on each pupil, against £8,120 across England. 24.2% of pupils are persistently absent, missing one day in ten or more, against 18.1% across England.
Looking further afield? See secondary schools near me, or everything in the North West.
Explore
Secondary schools near meLook closer to home
Pick an area to see its secondary schools, or browse other kinds of school in and around the North West.
- Lancashire164 secondary schools
- Manchester62 secondary schools
- Liverpool58 secondary schools
- Cheshire West and Chester46 secondary schools
- Cheshire East45 secondary schools
- Salford41 secondary schools
- Stockport38 secondary schools
- Bolton37 secondary schools
- Wirral35 secondary schools
- Oldham34 secondary schools
- Sefton34 secondary schools
- Westmorland and Furness33 secondary schools
- Wigan33 secondary schools
- Tameside30 secondary schools
- Cumberland29 secondary schools
- Trafford27 secondary schools
- Blackburn with Darwen26 secondary schools
- Rochdale26 secondary schools
- Bury23 secondary schools
- Warrington22 secondary schools
- St Helens20 secondary schools
- Blackpool19 secondary schools
- Halton16 secondary schools
- Knowsley11 secondary schools
Other schools in the North West
- Primary schools2,795 schools
- Nurseries2,249 schools
- Sixth forms362 schools
- Grammar schools19 schools
- Private schools336 schools
- Special schools372 schools
- Boarding schools32 schools
- Faith schools1,438 schools
- Catholic schools596 schools
- Church of England schools720 schools
- Muslim schools48 schools
- Jewish schools34 schools
- Girls' schools61 schools
- Boys' schools62 schools
Secondary schools nearby
All schools in the North West
Questions
Questions parents ask
How many secondary schools are in the North West?
There are 909 secondary schools in the North West, including state-funded, academies, and independent schools.
What are the best secondary schools in the North West?
The highest-ranked secondary schools in the North West on Eduscope are Sale Grammar School, Altrincham Grammar School for Boys and Loreto Grammar School. We rank each state school against schools of the same phase across England on its Ofsted inspection, results and attendance.
How many Ofsted Outstanding secondary schools are in the North West?
the North West has 30 secondary schools rated Outstanding by Ofsted. A further 200 are rated Good, meaning 85% of inspected schools hold a Good or Outstanding rating.
How are secondary schools in the North West ranked on Eduscope?
Each state school gets a rank score out of 100. We place each measure as a percentile among state schools of the same phase across England, then weight them. Primary schools: latest Ofsted inspection 30%, pupils meeting the expected standard at Key Stage 2 30%, pupils reaching the higher standard 10%, persistent absence (lower is better) 20%, average reading and maths scores 10%. Secondary schools: latest Ofsted inspection 25%, Attainment 8 25%, grade 5 or above in English and maths 15%, persistent absence (lower is better) 15%, pupils staying in education or work after GCSEs 10%, A level average points (sixth forms only) 10%. Results are averaged over up to three years, and an Ofsted grade older than five years counts for less. A school needs data for at least 60% of the weights. Special schools, pupil referral units, nurseries, independent schools and 16 to 19 schools aren't ranked, and are listed by Ofsted grade and name. Our methodology page explains more.
What is the average class size in the North West secondary schools?
The average pupil-teacher ratio across secondary schools in the North West is 16:1. While this is not a direct measure of class size, it indicates the level of teaching resource available per pupil.
How do I choose a secondary school in the North West?
When choosing a secondary school in the North West, consider Ofsted ratings, GCSE results (Progress 8 and Attainment 8), sixth form provision, and the school's specialisms. You can compare all 909 secondary schools on Eduscope using filters for school type, gender, and admissions policy.
Sources: Department for Education school performance tables, school census and workforce data, Get Information About Schools and Ofsted. Distances are straight-line estimates.