The secondary school your child goes to will see them through major exams and a stage of their lives that could completely change the course of their future.
That’s why its so important you choose one that’s right for your child and family. But with faith-based schools, specialist schools that align with their interests, prestigious grammar schools where you’ll need to pass an exam to get in, and local schools close to home, how can you even begin to narrow it down?
We’re taking a look at the top-rated secondary schools around the country to help inform that decision, and today we’ve honed in on the North West. The region, home to a number of significant cities like Manchester and Liverpool, is also home to an abundance of excellent schools. Here we’ve listed only state-funded schools rated as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted - meaning the quality of education provided, student behaviour and attitudes, school leadership and management, and student safeguarding have all been found to be excellent.
On top of that, we’ve narrowed it down based on school’s ‘Progress 8’ ratings. These ratings are based on GCSE results and other student achievements, to determine how quickly students at each school learn and progress compared to a nationwide average. Any score above 0 is positive, but we’ve tracked down the schools with rankings classified as above or well above average.
Here were the 21 highest scorers - the super schools of the North West.
1. Tauheedul Islam Girls' High School
Tauheedal is a Muslim girls’ secondary school in Blackburn, Lancashire. Although it is an Islamic faith school, it welcomes applicants from all backgrounds. Tauheedal has an exceptionally high Progress 8 score of 2.30 making it 'well above average'. Its incredible score isn't due to having a low number of students either, with upwards of 700 on the roll. | Google
2. Tauheedul Islam Boys' High School
This is a Muslim boys’ secondary school in Blackburn, Lancashire. Although it is an Islamic faith school, it welcomes applicants from all backgrounds. Just like its counterpart, the boys' school has a very high Progress 8 Score of 1.47 - classified as well above average. | Google
3. Preston Muslim Girls High School
This is a Muslim girls’ secondary school in Preston, Lancashire. Non-Muslim students are also allowed to apply. It has a Progress 8 Score of 1.15, also landing it in the well above average category. | Google
4. Altrincham Grammar School for Boys
This is a boys’ grammar school in Altrincham, Greater Manchester. It is selective, meaning students must get through a competitive admission process to enrol. Altrincham Boys has a Progress 8 score of 1.14 - or well above average. | Google