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Trafford Consortium

Stretford Grammar School 11+ Preparation

The smallest school in the Trafford Consortium and the most urban, drawing from north Trafford and neighbouring parts of Manchester. It is also the most transparent of the five about how admissions work: the qualifying score, the catchment postcodes and the full order of oversubscription criteria are all published on the school's own pages.

The school in brief

Type
Co-educational, selective
Year 7 places
160 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 small co-educational grammar school with an intake of 160, noticeably more compact than the Altrincham schools. Its catchment reaches into Manchester as well as Trafford, which gives it a more mixed urban intake than the schools further south in the borough.

Qualifying score

334 out of 400, for 2027 entry.Confirmed on the school's own admissions page for 2027 entry. The score for 2028 entry, the first FSCE year, has not been published and may differ.

Treat it as a threshold, not a target. Reaching it makes your child eligible; it does not secure a place. Stretford 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

M32, M33, M41, M17, M15 and M16, both within Trafford and Manchester, and including M21.

Once children have qualified, places are allocated in this order:

  1. Looked After Children and all previously Looked After Children
  2. Children in state care outside England who were adopted
  3. Catchment residents receiving pupil premium or service premium
  4. Children who will have a sibling attending the school within Years 7 to 11
  5. Successful candidates who live within the immediate area
  6. Non-catchment residents receiving pupil premium or service premium
  7. Children who live nearest to the school, measured in a direct straight line

How Stretford Grammar compares

Stretford is the smallest of the five and the one whose catchment reaches furthest into Manchester itself, taking in M15, M16 and M21 alongside the Trafford postcodes. For a family in Old Trafford, Whalley Range or Chorlton, it is frequently the only Consortium school within realistic distance. Sale is larger and more central; Urmston sits west and prioritises M41 and M31; the two Altrincham schools sit south and single-sex. Stretford is also the school that publishes the most: where other Consortium schools leave the qualifying score in a policy document, Stretford states it plainly.

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 Stretford 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 Stretford 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.

Stretford Grammar 11+: common questions

What score is needed for Stretford Grammar?
Stretford publishes a qualifying score of 334 for 2027 entry, stated on the school's own admissions page. Note that this is the score for the current GL Assessment test. The threshold for 2028 entry, the first year of the FSCE test, has not yet been published and may not be the same number.
How many places does Stretford Grammar offer?
The intended admission number for September 2027 is 160, which makes Stretford the smallest of the five Consortium schools. Fewer places means the distance criterion bites harder than it does at the larger schools.
What is the Stretford Grammar catchment area?
The catchment covers M32, M33, M41, M17, M15 and M16, in both Trafford and Manchester, and includes M21. It is the only Consortium catchment that reaches meaningfully into Manchester itself, which is why it is often the realistic option for families in Old Trafford, Whalley Range and Chorlton.
How are places allocated once children have qualified?
In a published order. Looked after and previously looked after children come first, then children in state care outside England who were adopted, then catchment residents receiving pupil or service premium, then siblings already at the school in Years 7 to 11, then successful candidates living within the immediate area, then non-catchment pupil or service premium applicants, and finally children living nearest the school measured in a direct straight line.
Does reaching 334 guarantee a place?
No. Reaching the qualifying score makes your child eligible for consideration; it does not secure an offer. Stretford is oversubscribed, so qualified children are then ranked by the oversubscription criteria, where catchment and straight-line distance do most of the work.
Is Stretford Grammar co-educational?
Yes. Stretford, Sale and Urmston are the three co-educational Consortium schools, and Stretford is the smallest of them.
Is Stretford changing to the FSCE exam?
Yes, with the rest of the Consortium. Children entering Year 7 in September 2028 sit the FSCE test in September 2027, covering Key Stage 2 English and maths. Verbal and non-verbal reasoning are removed.
We live in M21. Is Stretford our closest grammar school?
For many M21 addresses it is the only Consortium school within realistic distance, since the Altrincham schools sit further south and Urmston further west. M21 is named in Stretford's catchment, which puts you in the catchment criterion, though distance still decides the outcome among qualified applicants.

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