1
Penwortham Girls' High School
Preston • Lancashire • PR1 0SR
1
3 Jul 2024
Top 10 Secondary schools in North West
Updated for the latest inspections (median graded year: 2022)
This Top 10 showcases secondary schools in the region of North West. 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
456
Outstanding
35
Good
286
Median inspection year
2022
Ofsted grade mix (graded schools)
O: 8% · G: 69% · RI: 19% · I: 3%
2
Pleckgate High School
Blackburn • Lancashire • BB1 8QA
1
2 Jul 2024
3
Keswick School
Keswick • Cumbria • CA12 5QB
1
9 Jun 2024
4
Co-op Academy Belle Vue
Manchester • M12 4BA
1
13 May 2024
5
Tauheedul Islam Boys' High School
Blackburn • BB2 2LD
1
24 Apr 2024
6
Didsbury High School
Manchester • M20 2ET
1
10 Mar 2024
7
Laurus Cheadle Hulme
Cheadle • SK8 5GB
1
15 May 2023
8
All Hallows Catholic High School
Preston • Lancashire • PR1 0LN
1
28 Mar 2023
9
Laurus Ryecroft
Manchester • M43 7LJ
1
12 Mar 2023
10
Golborne High School
Warrington • Cheshire • WA3 3EL
1
8 Mar 2023
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
- Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy 1 • Feb 2023
- Wirral Grammar School for Girls 1 • Jan 2023
- Wade Deacon High School 1 • Jan 2023
- The Blue Coat CofE School 1 • Jan 2023
- Clitheroe Royal Grammar School 1 • Jan 2023
- Altrincham Grammar School for Girls 1 • Dec 2022
- Tauheedul Islam Girls' High School 1 • Nov 2022
- Altrincham Grammar School for Boys 1 • Nov 2022
- Loreto Grammar School 1 • Nov 2022
- Broughton High School 1 • Oct 2022