1
Eden Boys' School, Bolton
Bolton • Greater Manchester • BL1 3QE
1
7 Jul 2017
Top 10 Secondary schools in Greater Manchester
Updated for the latest inspections (median graded year: 2022)
This Top 10 showcases secondary schools in the county of Greater 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
44
Outstanding
2
Good
25
Median inspection year
2022
Ofsted grade mix (graded schools)
O: 5% · G: 68% · RI: 24% · I: 3%
2
Levenshulme High School
Manchester • Greater Manchester • M19 1FS
1
15 Nov 2016
3
Oasis Academy Oldham
Oldham • Greater Manchester • OL8 4JZ
2
21 Jul 2024
4
Co-op Academy Swinton
Manchester • Greater Manchester • M27 6JU
2
8 Jul 2024
5
Atherton High School
Atherton • Greater Manchester • M46 0AY
2
14 May 2024
6
The Albion Academy
Salford • Greater Manchester • M6 6QT
2
16 Jul 2023
7
Audenshaw School
Manchester • Greater Manchester • M34 5NB
2
16 May 2023
8
AldridgeUTC@MediaCityUK
Salford • Greater Manchester • M50 2UW
2
27 Apr 2023
9
CHS South
Manchester • Greater Manchester • M21 7SX
2
13 Feb 2023
10
St James's Church of England High School
Bolton • Greater Manchester • BL4 9RU
2
12 Dec 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
- St Patrick's RC High School 2 • Sep 2022
- Little Lever School 2 • May 2022
- Eden Girls' Leadership Academy, Manchester 2 • Apr 2022
- Manchester Enterprise Academy Central 2 • Mar 2022
- Eden Boys' Leadership Academy, Manchester 2 • Jan 2022
- Essa Academy 2 • Dec 2021
- Wardle Academy 2 • Jan 2018
- Droylsden Academy 2 • Oct 2017
- E-ACT the Oldham Academy North 2 • Jun 2016
- The Hathershaw College 2 • May 2016