North West brings together 19 grammar schools across 6 local areas, with the biggest groups in Trafford, Wirral, and Lancashire. It works best as a wider overview of several distinct selective pockets, where school mix, test route, and admissions shape can change noticeably from one local area to the next.
Area pages
Each page covers one smaller local area.
These area pages split North West into smaller local groups. That makes it easier to compare schools that are actually part of the same local list.
See all exam areasBrowse 4 grammar school profiles in Lancashire, covering Clitheroe, Lancaster, and Rossendale and compare the local admissions landscape before you shortlist.
Browse 2 grammar school profiles in Lancaster, Lancashire and compare the local admissions landscape before you shortlist.
Browse 1 grammar school profile in Merseyside and compare the local admissions landscape before you shortlist.
Browse 7 grammar school profiles in 3 counties across North West, then use the linked Trafford guide for shared test dates, downloads, and route detail.
Browse 1 grammar school profile in Cumbria and compare the local admissions landscape before you shortlist.
Browse 6 grammar school profiles in Merseyside, then use the linked Wirral guide for shared test dates, downloads, and route detail.
School list
The best grammar schools in North West on this page are ordered by GCSE results. Local routes, travel patterns, and school rules can still vary a lot between areas such as Trafford, Wirral, and Lancashire.
Altrincham Grammar School for Girls, Cavendish Road, Bowdon
Overall GCSE score:85.1
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 2.3 applicants per place
Blue Coat School, Church Road, Wavertree
Overall GCSE score:81.4
Assessment: Individual
Applicants per place: 2.7 applicants per place
Altrincham Grammar School for Boys, Marlborough Road, Bowdon
Overall GCSE score:78.9
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 2.4 applicants per place
Sale Grammar School, Marsland Road
Overall GCSE score:74.3
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 6.0 applicants per place
Saint Ambrose College, Hale Road, Hale Barns
Overall GCSE score:74.1
Assessment: GL Assessment, Individual
Applicants per place: 3.0 applicants per place
Clitheroe Royal Grammar School, York Street
Overall GCSE score:69.8
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 2.8 applicants per place
Stretford Grammar School, Granby Road, Stretford
Overall GCSE score:69.6
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 8.6 applicants per place
Lancaster Royal Grammar School, East Road
Overall GCSE score:68.4
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 1.7 applicants per place
Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School, Glen Road
Overall GCSE score:67.9
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 2.2 applicants per place
Lancaster Girls' Grammar School, Regent Street
Overall GCSE score:67.2
Assessment: FSCE
Applicants per place: 2.1 applicants per place
Loreto Grammar School, Dunham Road
Overall GCSE score:65.8
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 3.0 applicants per place
Urmston Grammar Academy, Newton Road, Urmston
Overall GCSE score:63.2
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 7.0 applicants per place
West Kirby Grammar School, Graham Road, West Kirby
Overall GCSE score:61.3
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 2.0 applicants per place
Wirral Grammar School for Girls, Heath Road, Bebington
Overall GCSE score:57.8
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 2.2 applicants per place
Calday Grange Grammar School, Grammar School Lane, West Kirby
Overall GCSE score:52.4
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 1.7 applicants per place
Wirral Grammar School for Boys, Cross Lane, Bebington
Overall GCSE score:49.9
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 2.2 applicants per place
Upton Hall School FCJ, Upton
Overall GCSE score:48.7
Assessment: Individual
Applicants per place: 2.3 applicants per place
Queen Elizabeth Grammar School Penrith, Ullswater Road
Overall GCSE score:43.9
Assessment: FSCE
Applicants per place: 1.5 applicants per place
St Anselm's College, Manor Hill
Overall GCSE score:23.3
Assessment: Individual
Applicants per place: 2.4 applicants per place
North West overview
19 grammar schools are spread across 6 local areas, with the biggest groups in Trafford, Wirral, Lancashire, and 3 more.
What stands out
North West works more like a set of smaller local grammar-school areas than one single admissions market. The best-known groups sit around Trafford, Wirral, Lancashire, Lancaster, and 2 more.
What parents notice
The area includes boys' schools, girls' schools, and co-ed options. North West does not sit on one single test route. Across the wider area you see a mix of GL Assessment, FSCE. 2 local areas also have a named shared test guide.
Where they are
North West is best understood as a set of smaller local areas, each with its own school mix and admissions shape.
Largest local group
Trafford is the biggest local cluster in this wider area, with 7 schools.
Test routes
North West does not sit on one single test route. Across the wider area you see a mix of GL Assessment, FSCE.
School mix
The area includes boys' schools, girls' schools, and co-ed options.
Shared test guides
2 local areas in North West also have a named shared test guide.
The Trafford route shapes much of the local admissions picture.
The Wirral route shapes much of the local admissions picture.
4 schools in a more self-contained local grammar area.
2 schools in a more self-contained local grammar area.
1 school in a more self-contained local grammar area.
1 school in a more self-contained local grammar area.
FAQ
North West grammar schools are mainly concentrated in Lancashire, Lancaster, Liverpool, Trafford, Westmorland and Furness, and 1 more, rather than one single city-wide or county-wide group.
The area includes boys' schools, girls' schools, and co-ed options.
North West does not sit on one single test route. Across the wider area you see a mix of GL Assessment, FSCE.
They can feel quite different. Some local areas have a named shared test guide, while others are smaller self-contained clusters with their own school mix and local admissions detail.