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Altrincham Grammar School for Boys vs Saint Ambrose College

Both are grammar schools in Trafford, 1.4 miles apart. Side-by-side on official DfE, Ofsted and council admissions data.

Side by side

Altrincham Grammar School for Boys Saint Ambrose College
Phase Secondary Secondary
Gender Boys Boys
Pupils on roll 1,432 1,096
Free school meals 5.7% 6.4%
Ofsted rating Outstanding Not published
Attainment 8 — 2025/26 79.1 72.3
11+ test board GL Assessment School's own entrance examination (Verbal Reasoning, Maths, English)
Admission system qualifying score is the minimum; places then go in score order (distance only breaks ties) pass/fail then criteria order (score doesn't give priority after passing)
Places offered — 202627 215 149
First preferences per place — higher means more competition for a first-preference place 1.4 1.5

Qualifying scores

Altrincham Grammar School for Boys

334 (2026 entry)

Trafford Consortium qualifying score: 334 or above (standardised, across the two consortium papers). Reaching 334 is eligibility, not an offer — each school's oversubscription criteria then apply. AGSB 2025 entry: out-of-catchment places required a minimum score of 377 (20 out-of-catchment offers); in-catchment applicants needed only the qualifying 334.

Council source ↗

Saint Ambrose College

No fixed pass mark. St Ambrose College offers its ~140 Year 7 places in rank order of total score on its own 3-paper entrance test, with Catholic faith-based oversubscription categories applied.

Council source ↗

These schools use different tests (GL Assessment and School's own entrance examination (Verbal Reasoning, Maths, English)), so their pass marks are set on different scales and cannot be compared as numbers.

Who gets priority

Where a school is oversubscribed, these are the first criteria applied, in order. This is usually what decides an application.

Altrincham Grammar School for Boys

  1. Looked after and previously looked after children scoring 324 or more
  2. Up to 20 Pupil Premium boys living in the priority area and attending a Trafford state primary, scoring 324–333 (all such boys scoring 334+ are also admitted) — in score order
  3. Up to 10 Pupil Premium boys attending a Trafford state primary, scoring 324 or more — in score order
  4. Boys living in the priority area (Trafford addresses in WA13, WA14, WA15, M33, M23) scoring 334 or more — in score order
  5. Boys from outside the priority area scoring 334 or more — in score order

Source: school admissions policy.

Saint Ambrose College

  1. Baptised Catholic boys who are looked after or previously looked after
  2. Baptised Catholic boys with a brother at the school
  3. Baptised Catholic boys living in a nominated Local Pastoral Area (all WA14, WA15, M31 and M33 postcodes, and the listed parishes)
  4. Other baptised Catholic boys
  5. Other looked after or previously looked after boys
  6. Catechumens and members of an Eastern Christian Church

Source: school admissions policy.

Choosing between them

Both schools admit boys, so the decision usually comes down to the admission criteria above and how far each one reaches. The figures on this page are the published ones — they describe intakes and results, not what either school would be like for your child. The right choice depends on your family's own priorities and circumstances.

Full detail for each school: Altrincham Grammar School for Boys · Saint Ambrose College
Or see all secondary schools in Trafford ranked.

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