Trafford grammar schools & how to get in.
Trafford, in Greater Manchester, is the North West’s main selective area — 7 grammar schools in Altrincham, Sale, Stretford and Urmston. Most admit through the shared Trafford test and a catchment area; the two Catholic grammars select on faith and score. This page explains how it works and lets you check your postcode against all 7.
Check your postcode against every Trafford grammar
See which catchments you fall inside, your distance to each school and your eligibility — free, no account needed.
Real, published boundaries and the latest distance cut-offs — not straight-line estimates.
How Trafford grammar admissions work.
Trafford’s grammars mostly share one entry test — the Trafford consortium test (run by the Trafford grammar schools). Children sit it in September of Year 6; you register over the preceding summer. The two Catholic grammars, Loreto and St Ambrose, run their own faith-based admissions alongside a test. You then apply through your home council by 31 October; offers go out on 1 March.
Trafford is heavily oversubscribed — it draws applicants from across Greater Manchester and Cheshire — so qualifying alone rarely secures a place.
How the rest is decided depends on the school.
Catchment, or faith and score.
The five non-faith grammars — Altrincham Grammar for Boys and for Girls, Sale, Stretford and Urmston — use a catchment area (a postcode-based zone or radius); living inside it gives priority, with distance breaking ties.
The two Catholic schools (Loreto and St Ambrose) prioritise faith, then rank on score — so for practising-Catholic families they function as super-selective.
Because the non-faith schools weigh distance heavily, where you live can decide a place even after a strong score. GrammarBound maps each catchment and the latest distances — open the map or check your postcode above.
Every Trafford grammar school.
All 7 Trafford grammar schools. Each links to a plain-English admissions guide with that school’s exact criteria and catchment.