Saint Ambrose College vs Sale Grammar School
Both are grammar schools in Trafford, 3.3 miles apart. Side-by-side on official DfE, Ofsted and council admissions data.
Side by side
| Saint Ambrose College | Sale Grammar School | |
|---|---|---|
| Phase | Secondary | Secondary |
| Gender | Boys | Mixed |
| Pupils on roll | 1,096 | 1,352 |
| Free school meals | 6.4% | 2.9% |
| Ofsted rating | Not published | Outstanding |
| Attainment 8 — 2025/26 | 72.3 | 75.5 |
| 11+ test board | School's own entrance examination (Verbal Reasoning, Maths, English) | GL Assessment |
| Admission system | pass/fail then criteria order (score doesn't give priority after passing) | pass/fail + catchment (passing the test is a gate; living in the catchment area determines priority over score) |
| Places offered — 202627 | 149 | 197 |
| First preferences per place — higher means more competition for a first-preference place | 1.5 | 1.35 |
Qualifying scores
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.
Sale Grammar School
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.
These schools use different tests (School's own entrance examination (Verbal Reasoning, Maths, English) and GL Assessment), 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.
Saint Ambrose College
- Baptised Catholic boys who are looked after or previously looked after
- Baptised Catholic boys with a brother at the school
- Baptised Catholic boys living in a nominated Local Pastoral Area (all WA14, WA15, M31 and M33 postcodes, and the listed parishes)
- Other baptised Catholic boys
- Other looked after or previously looked after boys
- Catechumens and members of an Eastern Christian Church
Source: school admissions policy.
Sale Grammar School
- Looked after and previously looked after children
- Up to 15 Pupil Premium children: first those in the priority area (nearest first), then those at a Trafford state primary living elsewhere in Trafford (in score order)
- Children living in the priority area (M33, plus Trafford addresses in M23, WA14 and WA15) — nearest first
- Children from outside the priority area — in score order
Source: school admissions policy.
Choosing between them
Saint Ambrose College is a boys school and Sale Grammar School is a mixed school, so for many families the starting point is which one can admit their child. 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.
Other Trafford comparisons
- Altrincham Grammar School for Boys vs Altrincham Grammar School for Girls
- Altrincham Grammar School for Boys vs Loreto Grammar School
- Altrincham Grammar School for Boys vs Saint Ambrose College
- Altrincham Grammar School for Boys vs Sale Grammar School
- Altrincham Grammar School for Boys vs Stretford Grammar School
- Altrincham Grammar School for Boys vs Urmston Grammar Academy
- Altrincham Grammar School for Girls vs Loreto Grammar School
- Altrincham Grammar School for Girls vs Saint Ambrose College
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