Salford City College, Salford
Salford City College is a post-16 school for pupils aged 16 to 99 in Salford. It was rated Requires improvement at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in April 2024. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in February 2025 did not change this grade.
- Ofsted
- Requires improvement (2024)
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
Salford City College in detail
Salford City College in its own words
In its own words: "SCC Group is a collective group of colleges across Salford. Each college prides itself on delivering the best teaching and learning possible. Our colleges all have the same underlying values to give all students great opportunities and a guaranteed high-quality education."
Clubs and activities named on the school's website include photography and journalism.
Coming up: an open day on Saturday 7 November 2026, an open evening on Tuesday 10 November 2026, an open evening on Thursday 12 November 2026 and an open day on Saturday 14 November 2026. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.
All school open days in Salford
Vision and values (school website)Clubs (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Where pupils go next
Of the 2192 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 29% went on to university or other higher education, 6% to apprenticeships and 28% into work. 4% went to one of the most selective third of universities.
Getting there
The nearest tram or metro stop is Weaste (Manchester Metrolink), about 0.9 miles away in a straight line.
7 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Pendleton College (opposite), 310 metres away.
Sources: DfE destination measures; NaPTAN (Department for Transport)
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Safeguarding: effective
Contribution to meeting skills needs: Reasonable
Source: Ofsted, further education and skills inspections and outcomes (Open Government Licence)
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's February 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Salford City College has made rapid improvements to how it teaches and supports learners. Teachers now use innovative approaches like spiral curriculum in maths and visual feedback grids in construction, helping students learn more and remember better. The college is particularly strong at supporting students with high needs, where learners make swift progress towards their targets and feel genuinely involved in their learning goals.
Key Strengths
- Strong improvements to quality assurance systems with effective learning walks and support processes for underperforming courses
- Achievement for younger learners has improved across all study levels
- Significant progress in curriculum design, particularly in A-level mathematics using spiral curriculum approach
- Effective use of EHC plans and high needs provision, with learners making swift progress
- Governors providing robust challenge and scrutiny with improved board expertise and capacity
Areas for Improvement
- Assessment practices in apprenticeships need improvement - trainer/assessors not using assessment effectively to check learning
- Impact of 'closing the loop' feedback strategy too soon to evaluate
- Feedback to apprentices requires strengthening compared to young people on education programmes
Salford City College is a general further education college operating across six campuses in Greater Manchester with around 8,981 learners and apprentices. Following a May 2024 inspection that found the college required improvement, this monitoring visit in February 2025 assessed significant progress in quality assurance, leadership, and curriculum design.
About
Salford City College is a further education college in Salford, Greater Manchester. It offers A-levels, T-Levels, Vocational and Adult courses.
From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
At a Glance
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Special Measures
Sixth Form Performance (A-Level)
A-Level Results
C
Average grade
31.7
Points per entry
C
Best 3 A-Levels
6%
Achieving AAB+
Below average
Value added
553
A-Level students
86%
Retention rate
2024/25 academic year
A-Level Subjects Offered
+ 12 more subjects
2024/25 academic year - entries by number of students
After A-Levels - Leaver Destinations
After A-Levels (Year 13) - 2,192 students
2023/24 data
University & Higher Education Destinations
4%
Top-third university
45%
Degree course
52%
Any L4+ destination
2%
Apprenticeships
Based on 1,316 students completing 16-18 study
2022/23 cohort - "Top-third" = most selective third of UK universities by student intake
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 4 nearby schools
Latest from Salford City College
Level 3 Media & Journalism Exhibition at Salford Lads & Girls Club
28 Aug 2026
Salford City College Group Celebrates Outstanding A-level & Level 3 Results for the Class of 2026
13 Aug 2026
From Pendleton to primetime: Catherine Tyldesley returns as college Patron
30 Jun 2026
Salford students are a cut above
24 Jun 2026
From Eccles to Oxford: Former student returns to the college that changed his life
18 Jun 2026
A day of creativity, technology and inspiration at HOST
17 Jun 2026
From Salford City College's website. School Signal is not affiliated with the school.
Social & online
Keep up with Salford City College
Getting There
Bus Stops
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 5
- Fatal
- 1
- Serious
- 2
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 5 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 2 serious and 2 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
1 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Salford is 19.5 (the median across 136 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Capacity & Demand
Area Demand Pressure - Salford
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Salford
Across Salford council
Places available
2,774
Applications
2,789
Got 1st preference
85.9%
Got preferred school
96.4%
All secondary applications across Salford council (2026/27), not just this school.
Inspection History(11)
Further education and skills inspection
Questions parents ask about Salford City College
What is Salford City College's Ofsted rating?
Salford City College's most recent Ofsted inspection, in February 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in April 2024, it was rated Requires Improvement.
What is the catchment area for Salford City College?
No fixed boundary. When Salford City College is oversubscribed, Salford allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
How do I apply to Salford City College?
Apply through Salford's coordinated admissions process, naming Salford City College on your application. The national closing date in England is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts.
How many road collisions happen near Salford City College?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 5 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 2 serious and 2 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 1 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Salford is 19.5 (the median across 136 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Salford City College?
Salford City College is at Dronfield Road, Salford, M6 7FR.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)