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Trafford Consortium

Sale Grammar School 11+ Preparation

A co-educational grammar school in Sale, and the largest of the three co-educational schools in the Trafford Consortium. For families who want selective education without a single-sex environment, it is usually the first school on the list.

The school in brief

Type
Co-educational, selective
Year 7 places
190 placesConfirmed as the intended admission number for September 2027 entry.
Entrance test
The shared Trafford Consortium test. One registration, one score, used by all five schools.

A mixed grammar school of substantial size with a broad curriculum and an established sixth form. Being co-educational and centrally placed in the borough, it draws applications from across Trafford rather than from one corner of it, which keeps competition for places high.

Qualifying score

The qualifying score for 2028 entry is not yet confirmed for publication here. Check Sale Grammar’s admissions page for the current figure.

Treat it as a threshold, not a target. Reaching it makes your child eligible; it does not secure a place. Sale Grammar is oversubscribed, so qualified children are then ranked by the criteria below, in which where you live does most of the work.

Catchment and how places are allocated

The catchment definition is not yet confirmed for publication here. Check Sale Grammar’s admissions page for the current figure.

The order of oversubscription criteria is not yet confirmed for publication here. Check Sale Grammar’s admissions page for the current figure.

How Sale Grammar compares

Sale, Stretford and Urmston are the three co-educational options, and Sale is the largest of them with 190 places against Stretford's 160 and Urmston's smaller intake. That extra size does not make it easier to enter: being co-educational and centrally located, it attracts applications from a wider area than either. Families in M32 or M16 will often find Stretford closer, and families in M41 or M31 will usually find Urmston closer. Against AGSB and AGSG, the obvious difference is that Sale is mixed.

Key dates

Entry September 2028

For children currently in Year 5.

Registration opens
Not yet published. In recent cycles registration has opened in late April.
Registration closes
Not yet published. In recent cycles registration has closed in mid-June.
Test date
Confirmed as September of Year 6, so September 2027. The exact date is not yet published.
Results
Not yet published.
Common Application Form deadline
The Common Application Form deadline is set nationally at 31 October.

Children currently in Year 5 sit the test in September 2027 for entry in September 2028. Dates shown as not yet published are ones no school has released, not ones we have failed to look up.

Preparing for Sale Grammar

The test is shared, so preparation is not school-specific: the same work counts for all five. What is specific here is the threshold you are aiming past and whether your address puts you in contention at all. We measure before we teach. A free diagnostic assessment maps your child against the Key Stage 2 curriculum objective by objective, so sessions target gaps we have evidence for.

For the exam itself, read the Trafford Consortium page for how the shared test and registration work, and the FSCE exam page for the paper format and what changes.

Is Sale Grammar realistic for your child?

A free diagnostic assessment shows you exactly which Key Stage 2 objectives are secure and which are not, so you can decide with evidence rather than hope.

Book a free assessment Or download the parent guide

The assessment is free. You get a written report showing exactly where your child stands, and you’re welcome to use it to work on things at home, whether or not you book tuition. See a sample report.

Sale Grammar 11+: common questions

How many Year 7 places does Sale Grammar offer?
The intended admission number for September 2027 entry is 190, confirmed on the school's own entry page. That makes it the largest of the three co-educational Consortium schools.
What is the Sale Grammar catchment area?
Sale Grammar does not publish its priority area on its main entry pages; the definition sits in the admissions policy for each entry year. Because catchment does most of the work in allocating places once children have qualified, this is the document to read rather than relying on summaries elsewhere.
What score is needed for Sale Grammar?
Sale applies its own qualifying score to the shared Consortium test. We do not publish a figure until we have confirmed it in the school's own policy for the entry year in question. Any number quoted without an entry year attached should be treated cautiously.
Is Sale Grammar co-educational?
Yes. Sale, Stretford and Urmston are the three co-educational schools in the Consortium, while Altrincham Grammar School for Boys and Altrincham Grammar School for Girls are single-sex.
Does Sale Grammar have its own entrance exam?
No. It uses the shared Trafford Consortium test, so one registration and one sitting covers Sale and the other four Consortium schools. Sale then applies its own threshold and criteria to the standardised score.
Is Sale Grammar affected by the FSCE change?
Yes. Sale Grammar published the Consortium's announcement of the change. Children entering Year 7 in September 2028 sit the FSCE test in September 2027, drawn from the Key Stage 2 English and maths curriculum rather than reasoning.
Is Sale easier to get into than the Altrincham schools?
Not reliably. It has more places than Stretford or Urmston, but as the largest co-educational option in a central location it also attracts a wide field of applicants. Whether any Consortium school is realistic for you depends far more on where you live than on the size of its intake.
Can we apply to Sale and Stretford together?
Yes. Both are Consortium schools covered by the same test and the same score, so you simply rank them in your preferred order on the local authority Common Application Form.

Admissions details on this page were last checked against the school’s own published policy on .Arrangements change: always confirm directly with the school.