Altrincham College

Altrincham College is performing securely overall, with safeguarding standards met and a positive culture where pupils feel safe, respected and well cared for. The strongest features are the extensive personal development programme and the post-16 provision, which give pupils and students a wide range of enrichment, leadership, careers and life-preparation opportunities. Pupils behave well, attendance is close to national and improving, and support for pupils with SEND or known to social care is helping more of them achieve well. Across achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership and governance, the school is meeting expected standards. Published outcomes in some subjects vary, including for disadvantaged pupils, but recent improvements in curriculum delivery mean pupils are building knowledge with greater confidence. Post-16 students’ outcomes are close to national and have improved rapidly, with current students producing sophisticated work. The main areas for further work are consistent teaching adaptation and assessment. Not all subjects adapt learning equally well for pupils with different needs, and use of checks on learning varies, sometimes leaving pupils unclear about how to improve or slowing progress. Leaders should build on existing work to make these practices consistently strong across the school.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met and pupils feel safe.
• An extensive and coherent personal development programme is embedded across lessons, assemblies and form time.
• Pupils show respect for difference and diversity through inclusive cultural events.
• A wide range of clubs, leadership roles and enrichment activities, including debate club and The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, builds confidence.
• Careers education is impressive, with employer encounters, impartial advice and strong preparation for future education, employment or training.
• The post-16 study programme is ambitious, tailored and matched well to students’ interests and aspirations.
• Post-16 students show a sophisticated grasp of subject content and their outcomes have improved rapidly.
• Post-16 students benefit from high-quality careers support and additional accreditations such as sign language.
• Pupils achieve securely across the curriculum and are well prepared for their next steps.
• Pupils with SEND and those known to social care increasingly achieve well from their starting points.
• Attendance is close to the national average and persistent absence has fallen notably, particularly for pupils with SEND.
• The school is calm and orderly, most pupils behave respectfully, and bullying is uncommon and handled quickly.
• The curriculum is well sequenced, with clear strategic direction and improving teaching quality.
• Leaders have established effective approaches to developing pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills.
• Staff identify pupils’ needs early and use pupil premium funding with clear intent to reduce barriers.
• Leaders make appropriate use of alternative provision and monitor attendance, safety and progress well.
• Leadership has brought greater stability, staff are well supported, and trustees and governors monitor the school rigorously.

Areas for Improvement

• Teaching adaptations are not consistently embedded across all subjects, so pupils with different needs do not always access the curriculum equally well.
• Use of checks on learning varies, meaning some pupils are not clear about what they need to do to improve.
• Inconsistent assessment practice can slow the pace at which some pupils progress.
• Published outcomes vary in some subjects, including for disadvantaged pupils.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Altrincham College attended 92.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 20.6% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 4.1% of pupils at Altrincham College were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 5 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Altrincham College had 16.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.9% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 11.7% of pupils at Altrincham College were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.4% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Altrincham College received £7,705 and spent £8,354 for each of its 982 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,838,000 (£1,872 per pupil).

Across all 2 schools of Achieve and Learn Trust, income was £8,190 and spending £8,343 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Altrincham · Trafford local authority: places and applications

Altrincham College is part of Achieve and Learn Trust, which runs 2 schools. The nearest others:

• Reddish Vale High School Stockport

What is Altrincham College's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Altrincham College is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Altrincham College last inspected by Ofsted?

Altrincham College was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Altrincham College have?

Altrincham College has 973 pupils on roll.

What age range does Altrincham College cover?

Altrincham College for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Altrincham College's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 47.0, and 39% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Altrincham College?

Altrincham College is at Green Lane, Timperley, Altrincham, Cheshire, WA15 8QW.