Trafford
Sale Grammar School
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 75.5 is well above the national average of around 46. This reflects strong GCSE outcomes across the standard subject basket.
- 75.5
- Attainment 8
- 100%
- 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.
- +0.80
- Progress 8
- [0.59, 1.01]
- 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.
Watch-outs
- Selective admissions: an entrance test (usually the 11+ or equivalent) is required. Check registration and test dates well in advance.
What to do next
- Verify the school's official admissions policy
- Check entrance test registration dates
- 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.
Last distance offered in 2026: 9.5 km (5.91 miles), the furthest a child offered a place lived from the school. Add your postcode to see where you would sit.
Why we say “Add your postcode”
- In 2026 the furthest child offered a place lived 9.5 km (5.91 miles) from the school: the last distance offered. Trafford printed 5.907 miles (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.
Rings are straight-line distance from the school, not a catchment boundary. Councils measure from your home address, sometimes along walking routes, and the distance changes every year.
Last distance offered
Furthest child offered a place.
Pupils on roll
School census count against building capacity
101% 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 | 197 | 265 | 167 (63%) | 1,096 |
| September 2025 | 193 | 213 | 138 (65%) | 1,087 |
| September 2024 | 191 | 250 | 163 (65%) | 1,099 |
| September 2023 | 192 | 251 | 172 (69%) | 1,061 |
| September 2022 | 189 | 256 | 172 (67%) | 1,048 |
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 | 172 | Not published | Not published | 65% England 19% |
| 2020/21 2023-2024 tables | 163 | Not published | Not published | 64% England 24% |
| 2019/20 2022-2023 tables | 175 | 3% England 1% | 58% England 18% | 62% England 20% |
| 2018/19 2021-2022 tables | 177 | 3% England 1% | 54% England 15% | 60% England 17% |
| 2017/18 2020-2021 tables | 180 | 1% England 1% | 47% England 16% | 52% England 18% |
| 2015/16 2018-2019 tables | 170 | 2% England 1% | 58% England 14% | 64% 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
These five schools share the same entrance test. You should have already registered to sit the test on the test date of 14 September 2026.
Source · checked 28 September 2026
We are delighted to announce that the Trafford Grammar School Consortium has appointed Future Stories Community Enterprise (FSCE) as their new admissions test p…
Source · checked 27 October 2026
The Entrance Examination may assess knowledge and skills from any National Curriculum subject taught up to and including the Year 5 programme of study, meaning…
Source · checked 27 October 2026
Sixth form
A grade 6 in GCSE English Language and Maths
Source · checked 26 October 2026
A grade 6 in the Subject which you choose to study, (or two Grade 6s if you wish to study Science and took Co-ordinated Science at GCSE)
Source · checked 26 October 2026
The Sixth Form Application Form will close on Friday 5th February 2027.
Source · checked 26 October 2026
Admissions pageTest informationSixth form
Copied from the school's and test organisers' own pages; check them before registering or applying.
Questions parents ask about Sale Grammar School
- How good are Sale Grammar School's GCSE results?
- In 2025/26 (provisional) pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 75.5, against 47.6 across England, ranking #59 in England. 67.2% got grade 7 or above in both English and maths.
- How good are Sale Grammar School's A-level results?
- In 2024/25 students averaged 45.3 points per A-level entry (an average grade of A-). An A* is worth 60 points and an A 50.
- How hard is it to get into Sale Grammar School?
- For September 2026, 265 families put it first for 197 Year 7 places: 1.3 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 Sale Grammar School's catchment area?
- It has no fixed boundary. In 2026 the furthest distance offered for Year 7 was 5.91 miles (9.51 km), from Trafford council's allocation figures. It moves every year with applicant and sibling numbers, so a past distance never guarantees a place.
- How many Sale Grammar School students go to Oxford or Cambridge?
- 2.3% of its sixth-form leavers went to Oxford or Cambridge, and 54.2% 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) | 192 | 75.5 | — | 99.5% | 67.2% | — | — |
| 2024/2025 | 192 | 76.1 | — | 96.9% | — | 80.7% | 7.3 |
| 2023/2024 | 189 | 75.5 | +0.80 | 98.4% | — | 81.0% | 7.1 |
| 2022/2023 | 188 | 74.2 | +0.67 | 95.2% | — | 77.7% | 7.0 |
| 2021/2022 | 192 | 77.9 | +0.67 | — | — | 72.0% | 7.3 |
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 | 136498 |
| Local authority | Trafford |
| Region | North West |
| Phase | Secondary |
| Type | Academy converter |
| Gender of entry | Mixed |
| Age range | 11-18 |
| Headteacher | Headteacher Rebecca Smith |
| Trust | SALE GRAMMAR SCHOOL |
| Admissions | Selective |
| Religious character | None |
| Postcode | M33 3NH |
| Pupils | 1,350 |
| FSM eligible | 3.0% |
Contact and identifiers
Marsland Road, Sale, Cheshire, M33 3NH
http://www.salegrammar.co.uk/1619733217| DfE number | 4029 |
| UKPRN | 10033022 |
| Opened | 1 Mar 2011 |
| GIAS updated | 5 Mar 2026 |
Data sources and freshness
| Official record updated | 5 Mar 2026 |
| Latest KS4 year | 2025/2026 |
| Latest KS2 year | — |
| Ofsted published | 27 Sept 2022 |
Latest Ofsted inspection
| Quality of education | Outstanding |
| Behaviour and attitudes | Outstanding |
| Personal development | Outstanding |
| Leadership and management | Outstanding |
| Safeguarding | Effective |
| Inspection type | S5 Inspection |
| Category of concern | — |
| Inspection date | 29 Jun 2022 |
| Publication date | 27 Sept 2022 |