Urmston Grammar Academy, Manchester

Ofsted's report card from its 14 July 2026 inspection grades Urmston Grammar Academy on 7 areas: 7 strong standard. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Achievement - Strong standard. "At the end of key stages 4 and 5, pupils and students attain results in national examinations that are usually well above the national average."

Attendance and behaviour - Strong standard. "Leaders' strategic approach to attendance has been highly effective."

Curriculum and teaching - Strong standard. "Leaders have designed a curriculum that introduces pupils to complex ideas in a structured and logical order."

Inclusion - Strong standard. "Leaders' close partnership with primary schools allows them to understand the barriers that their pupils face before they join the school."

Leadership and governance - Strong standard. "Leaders and those responsible for governance embody the high ambitions they instil in pupils."

Personal development and wellbeing - Strong standard. "Leaders' well-considered programme ensures that pupils are taught important information about life in modern Britain."

Post-16 provision - Strong standard. "Leaders have designed a highly effective post-16 study programme that prepares students very well for independent life in modern Britain."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders and those responsible for governance should maximise the effectiveness of their systems and processes to gather and share the right information about pupils facing barriers to their learning or wellbeing, in order to drive a transformational impact on these pupils' experiences and opportunities"; "Leaders should seek continued improvement across the curriculum, overcoming barriers and challenges in order to drive a transformational impact for all pupils' learning and achievement".

In its own words: "Urmston Grammar is a selective school - we are an academy. The Governors and Urmston Grammar's SLT lead a highly successful 11-18 co-educational grammar school with an excellent national and local reputation for academic excellence in a caring community. The school attracts and retains exceptional staff who possess a wealth of experience, knowledge and expertise."

From the headteacher's welcome: "Urmston Grammar is an excellent school; we have a proud tradition of supporting our students to achieve excellent academic outcomes whilst simultaneously aiding their personal development. We received national recognition for our work as a Science and Language college and in September 2010 we became one of the first convertor academies."

Coming up: an open evening on Wednesday 11 November 2026 at 5pm. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2026, pupils at Urmston Grammar Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 75.6, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 58.2 in Trafford and 47 across England.

99% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 66% in Trafford and 47% in England.

That is up from 71.7 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.88: pupils made well above average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 76, against 75.5 for other pupils at the school.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 21 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Religious Studies, Geography and German.

Urmston Grammar Academy is a grammar school: places go to children who reach the required standard in its entrance test, and only then are the oversubscription criteria applied.

For September 2026 entry, 237 families put Urmston Grammar Academy as their first choice and 1116 named it as one of their preferences, for 169 places offered. That is 1.4 first choices for every place. 122 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

Urmston Grammar Academy admits pupils through an entrance test, usually called the 11-plus. Children have to be registered for it in advance, normally in the spring or summer of Year 5; the test itself is usually sat in September of Year 6, and results come out in October, before the 31 October deadline for naming secondary schools.

Passing the test makes a child eligible rather than guaranteeing a place: when more children pass than there are places, Urmston Grammar Academy ranks them by the criteria in its admissions policy, which can include test score and distance. Check Trafford's admissions pages and the school's own policy for this year's registration deadline - a child who is not registered in time cannot sit the test.

Trafford has 7 state grammar schools in all, so a child who passes may have several selective schools to choose between.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Urmston Grammar Academy are Flixton Girls School (0.4 miles, Good, Attainment 8 46.9); St Antony's Roman Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy (1 mile, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 44.3); Lostock High School (1.3 miles, Good, Attainment 8 37.4); and Wellacre Technology Academy (1.4 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 47.9).

Urmston Grammar Academy's 2026 results were higher than all 4 of them.

Urmston Grammar Academy is run by its own single-school academy trust.

Of the 150 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 99% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 3% to a further education college and 1% to an apprenticeship.

Of the 174 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 68% went on to university or other higher education, 5% to apprenticeships and 12% into work. 38% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

7% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 67 pupils (5.9%) received SEN support and 5 (0.4%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is social, emotional and mental health needs.

The nearest railway station is Urmston Rail Station, about 530 metres away (roughly a 7-minute walk).

10 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Roseneath Road (adjacent), 200 metres away.

In 2024/25, Urmston Grammar Academy issued 14 suspensions, 1.2 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Urmston Grammar Academy are Urmston Primary School (under 0.1 miles); English Martyrs' RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy (0.2 miles); St Mary's CofE Primary School (0.4 miles); and Our Lady of the Rosary RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy (0.5 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.