Trafford
Saint Ambrose College
GCSE results 2026: every Trafford school ranked · how England did
Exceptional results, but a place depends on the entrance test rather than where you live — worth a look only if you are planning to sit it.
What the data says
Published data, read plainly. It tells you what to check next; it does not guarantee a place or replace your local authority’s admissions guidance.
Attainment 8 of 72.3 is well above the national average of around 46. This reflects strong GCSE outcomes across the standard subject basket.
- 72.3
- Attainment 8
- 99%
- 5+ Eng & Maths
- 2025/2026
- Academic year
Pupils made above-average progress compared with similar pupils nationally. The confidence interval is entirely above zero, which is strong evidence of added value.
- +1.04
- Progress 8
- [0.82, 1.27]
- Confidence interval
Admissions realism depends on your home postcode and the school's published allocation data. Enter your postcode on this page to get a more specific assessment, and always verify the latest policy on the school's official admissions page.
This is a selective school. Admission usually requires passing an entrance test. Check the school's admissions policy for test registration deadlines.
This school has a Roman Catholic religious character. Admissions may prioritise pupils who meet faith criteria. A Supplementary Information Form (SIF) may be required.
Watch-outs
- Selective admissions: an entrance test (usually the 11+ or equivalent) is required. Check registration and test dates well in advance.
- Faith admissions criteria apply (Roman Catholic). A Supplementary Information Form may be required. Evidence of faith practice may be needed.
What to do next
- Verify the school's official admissions policy
- Check entrance test registration dates
- Download and review the Supplementary Information Form
- Book an open day or school visit
- Add this school to your shortlist and compare with backup options
Starting school in September 2027
- Secondary (Year 7): apply by 31 October 2026; offers on 1 March 2027.
National dates for England. You apply through the council where you live, even for a school in another council.
Admissions and catchment
Year 7 entry · Trafford council allocation figures, 2023–2026
Add a postcode to see where you would sit against past cut-offs.
Every on-time applicant was offered a place in 2025. Add your postcode to compare with earlier years.
Why we say “Add your postcode”
- Trafford did not publish a usable cut-off for 2026, so this uses 2025.
- In 2025 Trafford reports that every on-time applicant was offered a place (first allocation).
What could change this
- We measure a straight line from your postcode centre. The council measures from your home address, sometimes along walking routes, so treat anything near the line with care.
- Cut-offs move every year with the number of applicants and siblings.
- Children with an EHC plan, looked-after children and siblings are usually offered places before distance is used.
- Past allocations never guarantee a place.
Everyone who applied on time was offered a place, so distance did not decide entry and there is no ring to draw.
Last distance offered
Furthest child offered a place.
Pupils on roll
School census count against building capacity
104% full. Source: Get Information about Schools, 26 September 2026. A full school can still have places in the entry year.
Sources — check them yourself
- 2026 (first allocation): Trafford council allocation figures (web page)
- 2025 (first allocation): Trafford council allocation figures (web page)
- 2024 (first allocation): Trafford council allocation figures (web page)
- 2023 (first allocation): Trafford council allocation figures (web page)
- Official admissions page: Trafford. Use its address checker or booklet to confirm your own position.
Figures collected from council publications on 27 September 2026 and shown as printed, converted to km. Years the council did not publish are left blank. Past allocations never guarantee a place.
Applications and offers
National offer day figures that councils report to the Department for Education. These are counts only: they do not show how far away the last child offered a place lived.
Year 7 entry
| Year of entry | Places offered | Put it first | First choices offered | Applications (any preference) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | 149 | 223 | 137 (61%) | 458 |
| September 2025 | 150 | 205 | 140 (68%) | 415 |
| September 2024 | 176 | 253 | 169 (67%) | 460 |
| September 2023 | 149 | 218 | 145 (67%) | 421 |
| September 2022 | 150 | 192 | 143 (74%) | 376 |
Source: Department for Education: Primary and secondary school applications and offers, Academic year 2026/27, school-level data, published 18 June 2026. “–” means the figure was not published. The council’s own allocation figures are the official record: check Trafford’s admissions page for cut-off distances, the admission rules and this year’s dates.
Performance over time
Attainment 8 over time
Progress 8 over time(not available 2024/25 or 2025/26)
University destinations
Share of this school's sixth-form leavers who went on to Oxford or Cambridge, a Russell Group university, or a university in the top third by entry grades. Department for Education data for state-funded schools and colleges.
| Left sixth form | Students | Oxford or Cambridge | Russell Group | Top-third universities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 2024-2025 tables | 104 | Not published | Not published | 63% England 19% |
| 2020/21 2023-2024 tables | 95 | Not published | Not published | 72% England 24% |
| 2019/20 2022-2023 tables | 100 | 2% England 1% | 57% England 18% | 67% England 20% |
| 2018/19 2021-2022 tables | 98 | 0% England 1% | 56% England 15% | 63% England 17% |
| 2017/18 2020-2021 tables | 107 | 3% England 1% | 59% England 16% | 64% England 18% |
| 2015/16 2018-2019 tables | 98 | 1% England 1% | 49% England 14% | 58% England 19% |
- The DfE stopped publishing Oxbridge and Russell Group shares for individual schools after the 2022-23 performance tables (students who left in 2019/20). Top-third figures continue.
- Figures are percentages of all students who finished 16 to 18 study at the school, counting those who sustained a university place in the two years after leaving.
- Rankings use the average across years weighted by the number of students; a school needs at least 2 years and 50 students to be ranked. The top-third ranking uses the latest 3 years. Ranks are among state-funded schools and colleges.
- '<0.5%' means above zero but under half a percent. 'Suppressed' means 5 or fewer students.
- Source: Department for Education, 16 to 18 progression to higher education or training (Compare school and college performance, Explore education statistics).
Entry, tests and fees
Entrance test
To be considered for admission to the School, all applicants must achieve a total age standardised score of 320 in
Source · checked 27 October 2026
Applications for entry into Year 7 in September 2027 are now open for applicants with a date of birth between 1st September 2015 and 31st August 2016. The link…
Source · checked 27 October 2026
Please note that whilst the College issues the examination scores before 31 st October 2026 to assist
Source · checked 27 October 2026
Our assessment provider for this paper is GL Assessment and familiarisation papers can be found at: Verbal Reasoning Familiarisation .
Source · checked 27 October 2026
Verbal Reasoning Paper (50 minutes) – multiple choice.
Source · checked 27 October 2026
Admissions
Please note that since 11+ tests vary from one area to another, it's important to note that the free familiarisation materials are generic and may differ from o…
Source · checked 27 October 2026
The Published Admission Number (PAN) for the year commencing 1 September 2027 is 140. Applicants
Source · checked 27 October 2026
Sixth form
At least a Grade 5 GCSE in Mathematics and English Language AND
Source · checked 26 October 2026
At least a Grade 6 GCSE in Mathematics and English Language AND
Source · checked 26 October 2026
The next Sixth Form Open Evening at the College for September 2027 entry will be Thursday 12th November 2026 from 6-8pm. The evening is a chance for current St…
Source · checked 26 October 2026
Admissions pageAdmission policySixth form
Copied from the school's and test organisers' own pages; check them before registering or applying.
Questions parents ask about Saint Ambrose College
- How good are Saint Ambrose College's GCSE results?
- In 2025/26 (provisional) pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 72.3, against 47.6 across England, ranking #93 in England. 53.3% got grade 7 or above in both English and maths.
- How good are Saint Ambrose College's A-level results?
- In 2024/25 students averaged 44.5 points per A-level entry (an average grade of B+). An A* is worth 60 points and an A 50.
- How hard is it to get into Saint Ambrose College?
- For September 2026, 223 families put it first for 149 Year 7 places: 1.5 first choices per place. It is a grammar school, so children must reach the pass mark in its 11-plus test; its admission policy sets how passing children are ranked.
- What is Saint Ambrose College's catchment area?
- Every Year 7 applicant was offered a place in 2025, from Trafford council's allocation figures, so there was no distance cut-off that year.
- How many Saint Ambrose College students go to Oxford or Cambridge?
- 1.5% of its sixth-form leavers went to Oxford or Cambridge, and 55.3% to Russell Group universities (2015/16–2019/20), from Department for Education destination data.
Historical results
| Year | Pupils | Att8 | P8 | 5+ E&M | 7+ E&M | EBacc % | EBacc APS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/2026 (provisional) | 150 | 72.3 | — | 99.3% | 53.3% | — | — |
| 2024/2025 | 150 | 76.2 | — | 98.0% | — | 77.3% | 7.1 |
| 2023/2024 | 178 | 73.7 | +1.04 | 96.6% | — | 47.2% | 6.6 |
| 2022/2023 | 180 | 72.8 | +0.90 | 95.0% | — | 51.1% | 6.5 |
| 2021/2022 | 169 | 72.8 | +0.73 | — | — | 57.0% | 6.6 |
EBacc figures stop at 2024/2025: the DfE no longer publishes them from 2025/2026.
Nearby and similar schools
Other secondary schools in Trafford for local comparison.
School information
| URN | 138134 |
| Local authority | Trafford |
| Region | North West |
| Phase | Secondary |
| Type | Academy converter |
| Gender of entry | Boys |
| Age range | 11-18 |
| Headteacher | Principal Dermot Rainey |
| Trust | THE LAETARE CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST |
| Admissions | Selective |
| Religious character | Roman Catholic |
| Postcode | WA15 0HE |
| Pupils | 1,091 |
| FSM eligible | 6.3% |
Contact and identifiers
Hale Road, Hale Barns, Altrincham, Cheshire, WA15 0HE
www.st-ambrosecollege.org.uk1619802711| DfE number | 5900 |
| UKPRN | 10035808 |
| Opened | 1 May 2012 |
| GIAS updated | 29 Jan 2026 |
Data sources and freshness
| Official record updated | 29 Jan 2026 |
| Latest KS4 year | 2025/2026 |
| Latest KS2 year | — |
| Ofsted published | 16 Mar 2020 |
Latest Ofsted inspection
| Quality of education | Good |
| Behaviour and attitudes | Good |
| Personal development | Good |
| Leadership and management | Good |
| Safeguarding | Effective |
| Inspection type | Exempt School Inspection |
| Category of concern | — |
| Inspection date | 18 Feb 2020 |
| Publication date | 16 Mar 2020 |