1
Co-op Academy Belle Vue
Manchester • M12 4BA
1
13 May 2024
Top 10 Secondary schools in Manchester
Updated for the latest inspections (median graded year: 2022)
This Top 10 showcases secondary schools in the district of Manchester. It’s built from the latest graded Ofsted inspections. We rank Outstanding (grade 1) above Good (grade 2), then prioritise newer inspections. As tie-breakers, we consider the “Quality of education” sub-judgement (where available), then %FSM and school size.
Total secondary schools
30
Outstanding
5
Good
18
Median inspection year
2022
Ofsted grade mix (graded schools)
O: 19% · G: 67% · RI: 15% · I: 0%
2
Didsbury High School
Manchester • M20 2ET
1
10 Mar 2024
3
Burnage Academy for Boys
Manchester • M19 1ER
1
24 Oct 2018
4
Levenshulme High School
Manchester • Greater Manchester • M19 1FS
1
15 Nov 2016
5
Wright Robinson College
Manchester • M18 8RL
1
23 Mar 2016
6
Manchester Communication Academy
Manchester • M40 8NT
2
3 Jul 2024
7
Trinity CofE High School
Manchester • M15 6HP
2
1 Feb 2024
8
CHS South
Manchester • Greater Manchester • M21 7SX
2
13 Feb 2023
9
Manchester Academy
Manchester • M14 4PX
2
16 Nov 2022
10
Saint Paul's Catholic High School
Manchester • M23 2YS
2
21 Sep 2022
How we rank these schools
- Headline Ofsted grade: Outstanding (1) outranks Good (2), then RI (3), then Inadequate (4).
- More recent graded inspection dates rank higher.
- Where available, we use the Quality of education sub-judgement as a tie-breaker.
- Lower free school meals (%) may break remaining ties.
- Larger roll (pupil count) is a final tie-breaker.
Only the ten highest-ranked schools are shown; we also list “near misses” just below.
About Ofsted grades
- Outstanding (1): Highest judgement across key areas.
- Good (2): Strong effectiveness; meets standards consistently.
- Requires improvement (3): Not yet good; clear areas to improve.
- Inadequate (4): Significant weaknesses found.
Ungraded Section 8 visits check whether the previous graded judgement still stands, but they don’t replace it.
Data freshness & coverage
We refresh inspections and school snapshots regularly. If a school was inspected very recently, its report may not yet appear here.
Top-10 pages only appear for areas with at least 10 secondary schools that have a graded Ofsted inspection.
Map of the Top 10
Also highly rated nearby
- Eden Girls' Leadership Academy, Manchester 2 • Apr 2022
- Manchester Enterprise Academy Central 2 • Mar 2022
- Eden Boys' Leadership Academy, Manchester 2 • Jan 2022
- The Barlow RC High School and Specialist Science College 2 • Jul 2019
- Co-op Academy North Manchester 2 • Mar 2019
- Dean Trust Ardwick 2 • Jun 2018
- Our Lady's RC High School 2 • Mar 2017
- Manchester Enterprise Academy 2 • Apr 2015
- Co-op Academy Manchester 2 • Nov 2014
- Parrs Wood High School 2 • Dec 2013