About the school
Loreto Grammar School is a Roman Catholic academy grammar school for girls located on Dunham Road in Altrincham, Trafford, Greater Manchester. It educates around 1,050 girls aged 11 to 18 and is consistently one of the top-performing state schools in the country, with its most recent Ofsted inspection rating it outstanding across all areas.
The school was founded by the Sisters of Loreto in 1909 and remains part of the worldwide Loreto community, with sister schools across countries including India, Australia and Spain. It converted to academy status in 2012 and is now a single-academy trust under the Loreto Education Trust, continuing the Loreto Sisters' educational mission while retaining its distinctive Catholic ethos.
As one of Trafford's selective grammar schools, Loreto Grammar School selects pupils through its own Governors' Entrance Examination rather than the Northern Ireland-style transfer test, with places allocated according to exam performance and the school's published oversubscription criteria.
School type
Girls' Catholic Academy Grammar School
Exam date
Friday, 18th September 2026 (Entry into Year 7, September 2027)
Exam board
GL Assessment (English & Verbal Reasoning) + school-set Mathematics paper
Address
Dunham Road, Altrincham, Cheshire, WA14 4AH
Age range
11–18 (Years 7–13)
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Admissions information
The Loreto Grammar School entrance test is known as the Governors' Entrance Examination, taking place on Friday, 18th September 2026. Here is everything you need to know about the admissions process and exam structure.
Loreto Grammar School selects pupils through its own Governors' Entrance Examination rather than a shared regional test. Candidates sit three papers: a Verbal Reasoning paper and an English paper, both set and marked by GL Assessment and multiple-choice in format, plus a Mathematics paper written and set by the school itself in an open-answer style, similar to an independent school entrance test.
The Verbal Reasoning paper lasts around 50 minutes, the GL Assessment English paper around 45 minutes, and the school-set Mathematics paper around 45 minutes. All candidates sit the tests on the same day at the school, with scores standardised to account for age within the year group.
For Year 7 entry in September 2027, the Entrance Examination takes place on Friday, 18th September 2026. Registration opens at 10:00am on Saturday, 27th June 2026 (the same day as the school's Open Day) and closes at 1:00pm on Friday, 31st July 2026. Late applications cannot be accepted. Parents applying for baptised places should also arrange for their daughter's original Baptism Certificate to be sent to the school. Parents must separately name Loreto Grammar School as a preference on their Local Authority Common Application Form (CAF), typically by the end of October.
Entrance Examination results are usually emailed to parents in October. Regardless of test score, a place is only confirmed once Trafford Council (or the family's home local authority) processes the national secondary school offer, which is announced on National Offer Day, 1st March 2027.
Key admissions details
Loreto Grammar School has a Planned Admission Number (PAN) of 150 places in Year 7, and the school is regularly oversubscribed, with roughly 700 applications for those 150 places in recent years.
Loreto Grammar School does not operate a fixed distance-only catchment area. After children with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school, priority is given first to baptised Roman Catholic looked-after or previously looked-after girls, then to baptised Roman Catholic girls with sisters already at the school, then to baptised Roman Catholic girls attending an associated primary school within a Nominated Local Pastoral Area, before wider Catholic and other applicants are considered. Where a tie-break is needed, straight-line distance from home to school is used.
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Loreto Grammar School was founded by the Sisters of Loreto in 1909. It is a Roman Catholic academy grammar school for girls in Altrincham, Trafford.
Admission to Year 7 is based on Loreto's own Governors' Entrance Examination, with places then allocated according to the school's published oversubscription criteria. Parents must also name Loreto Grammar School on their Local Authority's Common Application Form.
Candidates sit three papers: a GL Assessment Verbal Reasoning paper, a GL Assessment English paper, and a Mathematics paper set independently by the school. All three are taken on the same day.
Loreto Grammar School does not have a formal distance-based catchment, but priority is given to baptised Catholic girls in specific Nominated Local Pastoral Areas, with distance from home used only as a tie-break where needed.
For September 2027 entry, registration opens at 10:00am on Saturday, 27th June 2026 and closes at 1:00pm on Friday, 31st July 2026. The Entrance Examination itself takes place on Friday, 18th September 2026, with National Offer Day on 1st March 2027.
Yes. Loreto Grammar School offers a wide range of activities, including its Environmental Group, Philosophy Film Club, French Spelling Bee and various sports, alongside its strong academic record and pastoral support.
Yes, all our tuition is available both in-person at our Edgbaston, Birmingham centre and online via live video sessions. Online tuition gives families across Greater Manchester and beyond access to our expert tutors without the need to travel. The quality and personalisation of sessions is identical in both formats.
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