Across the North West of England, more than 80 thousand pupils will be soon be heading off to their brand new secondary school.
The last term of the 2024/25 school year is now in its final days. Schoolchildren will then get to enjoy the six-week summer holidays, before they head back to class in September for the new, 2025/26 school year. Among them will be a huge cohort of primary school leavers transitioning to a whole new world - an often much larger secondary school where they will start working towards important qualifications.
This is why we’re revisiting the best performing state-funded secondary schools across the North West, looking at the top schools in each council area based on our own personal ‘gold standard’. This primarily draws on each school’s Progress 8 score, using the most recently-available exam data (currently for 2023/24).
These scores are an official metric showing how quickly pupils progressed compared to their peers, from when they left primary school to when they took their GCSEs. We’ve only included the very highest achieving schools, with a score above 0.75 - considered a particularly strong ‘well above average’. It is worth noting that performance data has now been finalised, so results and placings may differ slightly from earlier reports based on interim results.
We’ve also made sure each school on the list had positive ratings in their latest Ofsted inspections. These inspections are in the midst of an overhaul, but we’ve restricted our list to those with a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ overall grade under the previous system, or positive ratings across all categories under the current one. This means that quality of education, student behaviour and attitudes, school leadership and management, and safeguarding practices all met or exceeded Government standards.
Here are the 22 exceptional schools that came out on top:
5. Bolton Muslim Girls School
This is an Islamic girls’ secondary academy in Bolton, Greater Manchester. In a recent Ofsted inspection, it was found to be ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ in all categories. In the 2023/24 academic year, it had a ‘well above average’ Progress 8 score of 1.06. | Google
6. Loreto Grammar School
Loreto is a selective Catholic girls’ secondary academy and sixth form in Altrincham, Greater Manchester. It was most recently rated ‘outstanding’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 academic year, it too had a ‘well above average’ Progress 8 score of 1.06. | Google
7. Preston Muslim Girls High School
This is a local authority-maintained Islamic girls’ secondary school in Preston, Lancashire, most recently rated ‘outstanding’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 academic year, it again had a ‘well above average’ Progress 8 score of 1.06. | Google
8. Saint Ambrose College
Saint Ambrose is a selective Catholic boys’ secondary academy and sixth form in Altrincham, Greater Manchester. It was most recently rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 academic year, it had a ‘well above average’ Progress 8 score of 1.04. | Google