Best Trafford & Manchester Grammar Schools 2026/27

There are seven state grammar schools in Trafford, Greater Manchester. Five belong to the Trafford Consortium and share one entrance test: Altrincham Grammar School for Boys, Altrincham Grammar School for Girls, Sale Grammar School, Stretford Grammar School and Urmston Grammar School. The two others, Loreto Grammar School and St Ambrose College, are Catholic grammar schools that set their own separate tests.

The five Trafford Consortium schools use a shared entrance examination with test papers supplied by GL Assessment. It is made up of two papers, each lasting about an hour, covering verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and mathematics (maths content up to the start of Year 6). Most questions are multiple-choice and answers are marked on a separate sheet. Your child only sits the test once, even when applying to several Consortium schools.

For the five Consortium schools, the qualifying standard is a total standardised score of 334 or above, combined across the two papers and age-standardised so younger children are not disadvantaged. Reaching 334 makes your child eligible to be considered, but it does not guarantee a place: schools are oversubscribed, so catchment and the oversubscription criteria decide who is offered a place. Loreto and St Ambrose set their own qualifying scores separately.

Registration is opt-in, so children are not entered automatically; you must register directly with the grammar school. For September 2027 entry, registration for the Consortium opened at 12 noon on Thursday 23 April 2026 and closed at 12 noon on Friday 19 June 2026, the test took place on Monday 14 September 2026, and results are emailed in mid-October. If you miss the registration deadline, a later test will not normally be arranged until after 1 March 2027.

Passing the 11+ is separate from applying for a place. You must list your preferred schools, in order, on your home local authority's secondary common application form by the national deadline of 31 October 2026 for September 2027 entry. Offers are made on national offer day, 1 March 2027 (or the next working day). Late applications are only considered after on-time ones.

No. The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) is a well-known independent, fee-paying boys' school in Fallowfield, Manchester. Despite the name, it is not a state grammar school and is not part of the Trafford Consortium, so it is not covered on this page. The seven schools featured here are all free, state-funded grammar schools in Trafford.

Any child of the right age can sit the test regardless of where they live, and passing makes them eligible to apply. However, most Consortium schools give priority to families within a defined catchment or priority admission area when they are oversubscribed, so out-of-catchment children who qualify generally face longer odds. Always check each school's individual admissions policy and oversubscription criteria.

Altrincham Grammar School for Boys and St Ambrose College are boys' schools. Altrincham Grammar School for Girls and Loreto Grammar School are girls' schools. Sale Grammar School, Stretford Grammar School and Urmston Grammar School are co-educational. Loreto and St Ambrose are also Catholic schools with faith-based admissions criteria.

All seven are high-performing, and "best" depends on your child and location. Altrincham Grammar School for Boys, Altrincham Grammar School for Girls, Urmston Grammar School, Loreto Grammar School and St Ambrose College are all rated Outstanding by Ofsted, while Sale Grammar School and Stretford Grammar School are rated Good. The single-sex Altrincham schools are among the highest-attaining state schools in the North West; the co-educational options and the two Catholic schools each have their own strengths, so visit open evenings before deciding.

Yes. All seven are 11-18 schools with sixth forms offering A-levels, and several have strong records of progression to leading universities including Oxbridge. To prepare for the 11+, build verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and maths skills steadily from Year 5, since the Consortium does not release past papers. Prep4All's realistic practice papers and timed mock tests help children get familiar with the GL-style format, work to time and build exam confidence.