Secondary schools in Manchester

There are 32 secondary schools in Manchester, teaching 36,729 pupils. Of the 31 with a score, 15 do better than similar schools elsewhere in England and 9 do worse.

Best in England Primary schools in Manchester All schools in Manchester Places within

Pupils from low-income families50%average across these schools

Doing better than similar schools15 of 31scored schools in the top two bands

New-style Ofsted report cards7inspected since November 2025

Good or outstanding (old grades)162 requires improvement or inadequate

Full or nearly full15 of 32schools with 98% or more of places taken

Average class size22.9one-teacher classes, January census

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored

Getting a place in Manchester

From Manchester council's allocation figures for 2026 entry: 31 secondary schools, 7 of which filled on distance and 13 offered a place to everyone who applied. Every school's page has a postcode check.

Hardest to get into

The last place went to a child living this far away. The shorter the distance, the harder it is to get in.

Co-op Academy Belle Vue 0.9 miles
Didsbury High School 1.0 miles
Co-op Academy North Manchester 1.3 miles
Chorlton High School 1.4 miles
Levenshulme High School 1.6 miles
Burnage Academy for Boys 2.2 miles
Parrs Wood High School 2.3 miles

Places to spare

Every applicant was offered a place.

Manchester Academy 166 offers for 240 places
Dixons Brooklands Academy 141 offers for 210 places
Co-op Academy Manchester 275 offers for 330 places
Cedar Mount Academy 129 offers for 180 places
Abraham Moss Community School 238 offers for 270 places
Dean Trust Ardwick 242 offers for 270 places
The East Manchester Academy 200 offers for 220 places
Manchester Enterprise Academy 227 offers for 240 places
St Matthew's RC High School 259 offers for 270 places
CHS South 240 offers for 240 places
Dixons Newall Green Academy 140 offers for 140 places
Manchester Communication Academy 300 offers for 300 places

Source: Manchester council (allocation statistics). Councils we hold this for.

Secondary schools (32)

Ranked by score, highest first. The likely range shows how sure we can be. If two schools' ranges overlap, don't read it as one beating the other. Click a column heading to sort, or hover a row to find it on the map.

#	School	Pupils	Low income	Ofsted	Score	Likely range
1	Co-op Academy Belle VueFree school · ages 11-16	946	61%	Outstanding 2024	99	95 to 100
2	Eden Girls' Leadership Academy, ManchesterFree school · ages 11-18	659	46%	Report card 2026	98	96 to 100
3	Eden Boys' Leadership Academy, ManchesterFree school · ages 11-18	664	48%	Report card 2026	94	91 to 96
4	Levenshulme High SchoolAcademy · ages 11-16	1,057	55%	Outstanding 2022	93	90 to 95
5	Burnage Academy for BoysAcademy · ages 11-16	1,021	53%	Outstanding 2024	87	83 to 91
6	Our Lady's RC High SchoolRoman Catholic · ages 11-16	1,046	45%	Report card 2025	84	80 to 89
7	Didsbury High SchoolFree school · ages 11-18	1,220	42%	Outstanding 2024	84	79 to 88
8	William Hulme's Grammar SchoolAcademy · ages 3-18	1,542	41%	Not inspected	82	77 to 86
9	Whalley Range 11-18 High SchoolAcademy · ages 11-18	1,712	55%	Good 2022	82	77 to 86
10	Wright Robinson CollegeAcademy · ages 11-16	1,781	48%	Report card 2026	82	77 to 86
11	Chorlton High SchoolAcademy · ages 11-16	1,532	30%	Report card 2025	81	76 to 85
12	St Peter's RC High SchoolRoman Catholic · ages 11-16	1,013	48%	Good 2022	76	70 to 82
13	Trinity CofE High SchoolAcademy · ages 11-19	1,503	31%	Good 2023	72	64 to 78
14	The Barlow RC High SchoolRoman Catholic · ages 11-16	930	40%	Good 2024	68	59 to 76
15	Manchester AcademyAcademy · ages 11-16	1,025	59%	Good 2022	67	57 to 75
16	Manchester Enterprise Academy CentralFree school · ages 11-16	1,049	53%	Good 2022	62	52 to 70
17	Manchester Communication AcademyAcademy · ages 11-16	1,240	63%	Good 2024	59	49 to 68
18	CHS SouthFree school · ages 11-16	1,177	48%	Good 2023	59	47 to 68
19	The King David High SchoolAcademy · ages 11-18	708	20%	Requires improvement 2023	54	43 to 65
20	Dean Trust ArdwickAcademy · ages 11-16	1,329	62%	Good 2023	53	44 to 64
21	Parrs Wood High SchoolAcademy · ages 11-18	1,786	30%	Not inspected	46	37 to 55
22	The East Manchester AcademyAcademy · ages 11-16	1,035	63%	No overall grade 2025	45	34 to 55
23	St Matthew's RC High SchoolAcademy · ages 11-16	1,327	59%	No overall grade 2024	32	24 to 42
24	Abraham Moss Community SchoolAcademy · ages 3-16	1,793	56%	Not inspected	30	24 to 36
25	Co-op Academy North ManchesterAcademy · ages 11-18	1,259	48%	Good 2024	26	19 to 35
26	Loreto High School ChorltonRoman Catholic · ages 11-16	742	58%	Requires improvement 2024	24	18 to 33
27	Co-op Academy ManchesterAcademy · ages 11-16	1,554	53%	Good 2023	23	18 to 31
28	Saint Paul's Catholic High SchoolAcademy · ages 11-16	933	54%	Good 2022	12	9 to 17
29	Cedar Mount AcademyAcademy · ages 11-16 · Gorton	724	64%	Report card 2026	11	7 to 16
30	Dixons Brooklands AcademyAcademy · ages 11-19	913	52%	No overall grade 2024	3	2 to 5
31	Manchester Enterprise AcademyAcademy · ages 11-16 · Wythenshawe	1,145	59%	Report card 2026	2	1 to 3
	Dixons Newall Green AcademyFree school · ages 11-16	364	57%	Not inspected	–

Secondary schools by town in Manchester

Manchester29 schools

Secondary schools in nearby areas

Lancashire83 schools Liverpool33 schools Cheshire West and Chester20 schools Cumberland19 schools Cheshire East23 schools Westmorland and Furness20 schools Bolton20 schools Wigan19 schools Wirral20 schools Salford17 schools Stockport14 schools Oldham14 schools

About this list

Schools are listed by their School Chooser Score, highest first. Schools without a score (independent schools and those with too little published data) come after, in alphabetical order. The score compares each school with schools that have a similar mix of pupils, not just with each other, so a school with a lower score in a wealthier area may still have better exam results. How the score works.