England · Grammar school
Saint Ambrose College
Hale Barns, Altrincham · Boys only · ages 11 to 18
Official record: Get Information About Schools (URN 138134)
Overview
- Address
- Hale Road, Hale Barns, Altrincham, Cheshire, Hale Barns, Altrincham, WA15 0HE
- Status
- Open
- Admits
- Boys only
- Age range
- 11 to 18
- Number of pupils
- 1,096
- Capacity
- 1,050
- Eligible for free school meals
- 6.4%
- Sixth form
- Yes
- School type
- Academy converter
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- THE LAETARE CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Local authority
- Trafford
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026 · Source: Desk research (cited public sources) (parentview.ofsted.gov.uk), last checked 31 October 2026
Admissions and the 11+
- Admissions policy
- Selective (grammar school)
- Selection in this area
- Fully selective area36% of Year 7 places offered in Trafford for September 2026 were at selective schools (DfE applications and offers). We class an area as fully selective at 25% or more. Confirm with the local authority's admissions guide.
- Entrance test
- Trafford Consortium test
- Qualifying score
- standardised score 334 or above (2026 entry)
- Catchment area
- For September 2026 entry, priority goes to baptised Catholic boys whose home postcode is in one of the school's named local parish areas: all WA14, WA15, M31 and M33 postcodes (St Ambrose Deanery) and all M16, M21, M32 and M41 postcodes (St Ambrose Barlow Deanery). Within each group, Pupil Premium boys come first, then the highest test marks.Postcode areas: WA14, WA15, M31, M33, M16, M21, M32, M41
- Children from outside the catchment
- Yes: For September 2026 entry, other baptised Catholic boys from anywhere come straight after the local-area group, followed by other Christian and then other boys, all ranked by Pupil Premium and then test marks. Boys must pass the entrance exam.
Applications and offers for Year 7
For September 2026 entry, 458 applicants named this school (223 as their first choice) for 149 places. 77 of 149 offers went to children living outside Trafford.
| Intake | Places offered | Applicants | First choice | First choices per place | Offers to children outside Trafford |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2026 | 149 | 458 | 223 | 1.5 | 77 |
| Sept 2025 | 150 | 415 | 205 | 1.4 | 79 |
| Sept 2024 | 176 | 460 | 253 | 1.4 | 88 |
| Sept 2023 | 149 | 421 | 218 | 1.5 | 92 |
| Sept 2022 | 150 | 376 | 192 | 1.3 | 65 |
Show all 13 years
| Intake | Places offered | Applicants | First choice | First choices per place | Offers to children outside Trafford |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2021 | 146 | 485 | 206 | 1.4 | 77 |
| Sept 2020 | 148 | 375 | 184 | 1.2 | 94 |
| Sept 2019 | 178 | 459 | 224 | 1.3 | 101 |
| Sept 2018 | 184 | 460 | 246 | 1.3 | 96 |
| Sept 2017 | 144 | 411 | 204 | 1.4 | 75 |
| Sept 2016 | 172 | 382 | 223 | 1.3 | 95 |
| Sept 2015 | 147 | 362 | 199 | 1.4 | 65 |
| Sept 2014 | 141 | 355 | 200 | 1.4 | 70 |
"Applicants" counts every family that listed the school as any preference, so it is higher than the number competing for each place. "Outside Trafford" means a home in another local authority; it is not the school's catchment area. For grammar schools, offers also depend on the entrance test result.
Source: Secondary and primary school applications and offers (Department for Education), last checked 31 October 2026
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026 · Source: Admissions research (cited public sources) (leadingtuition.co.uk, st-ambrosecollege.org.uk), last checked 1 November 2026
Key dates for September 2027 entry
- Test registration (Trafford grammar schools)
- 23 April 2026 to 19 June 2026
- Test date
- 14 September 2026Consortium (Altrincham Boys/Girls, Sale, Stretford, Urmston) use one GL test on 14 Sep. Results mid-October by email (no exact date). Loreto Grammar runs own process: registration 27 Jun-31 Jul 2026, test 18 Sep. Late applications only in exceptional circumstances. Sources are tuition guides.
- Results sent to families
- Not yet available
- Apply to your council (September 2027 entry)
- By 31 October 2026This date has passed: late applications go to your council and are usually considered after on-time ones.
- National offer day
- 1 March 2027Offers are sent on 1 March, or the next working day.
- Open days
- Not yet available
- School opened (current registration)
- 1 May 2012
Unverified: test dates come from desk research (medium confidence). Confirm them with the council or test organiser. Sources: leadingtuition.co.uk, atomlearning.com.
Statutory dates: School Admissions Code (Department for Education).
Guide to the Trafford grammar schools and its schools · How applying works
Source: Test dates research (cited public sources) (leadingtuition.co.uk), last checked 1 November 2026 · Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026
Ofsted inspection
Inspected on 25 November 2025. Read the report ↗
- Achievement
- Exceptional
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Exceptional
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Strong standard
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Strong standard
- Post 16 provision
- Strong standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
From September 2024 Ofsted no longer gives an overall grade for state schools.
Inspection history (4)
Source: Ofsted inspection reports, last checked 31 October 2026
Exam results
GCSE results 2025/26 (provisional)
| Measure | This school | Selective schools in England | All state schools in England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8Average grade across 8 GCSE-level subjects, doubled for English and maths (maximum 90). | 72.3 | 72.1 | 46.2 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 99.3% | 93.7% | 46.3% |
| Grade 7 or above in English and maths | 53.3% | 57.7% | 14.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 100% | 98.3% | 64.8% |
| Progress 8Not published for most schools in recent years, because primary school tests were cancelled in 2020 and 2021. | – | – | – |
Attainment 8 over time: 73.7 (2023/24) → 76.2 (2024/25) → 72.3 (2025/26).
150 pupils took GCSEs. Results reflect a selective intake: compare grammar schools with each other rather than with all schools.
Source: Key stage 4 performance (GCSE results) (Department for Education), last checked 31 October 2026
How to get there
- Postcode
- WA15 0HE
- Map location
- 53.37053, -2.31974
- Open in OpenStreetMap
- Directions and surroundings ↗
- Telephone
- 01619802711
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026
Official links and documents
- School website
- www.st-ambrosecollege.org.uk
- Official register record
- Get Information About Schools (URN 138134) ↗
- Admissions policy document
- Not yet available
- Further reading
- Wikipedia ↗
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026