If you have an M33 or M23 postcode and are a Trafford resident, we strongly advise you to follow this important application advice.
If you don’t follow the application guidance and are offered a school further away, travel assistance won’t be provided – unless you qualify as a low-income family under the relevant criteria.
High schools
High schools in Sale are significantly oversubscribed, and each year, some children from the catchment area don't get a place at their preferred schools.
To have the best chance of securing a local school place, we strongly advise including all your catchment schools on your application.
Sale High School gives priority to children who live in the Sale area, closest to the school in a straight-line distance.
Ashton on Mersey School doesn't have a catchment area. Instead, it allocates places to children who live closest in a straight-line distance. This results in a circle around the school that varies each year but is usually less than one mile. Results from previous years:
- 2026: 0.97 miles
- 2025: 0.86 miles
- 2024: 0.83 miles
- 2023: 0.85 miles
- 2022: 0.82 miles
- 2021: 0.92 miles
Altrincham College also includes Sale postcodes in its catchment area.
We advise you to include all three of these schools in your list of preferences.
Catholic high schools
Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College (BTHCC) prioritises the enrolment of baptised Catholic children. BTHCC first considers those who attend a Catholic primary school in Trafford, then other baptised Catholic children.
If your child is baptised Catholic, it's a good idea to include BTHCC on your preference list. To be considered, you'll need to submit a copy of your child's baptismal certificate directly to the school.
In recent years, some non-baptised children have also been offered a place at BTHCC if they listed it as a preference. We advise parents of non-baptised children to do this.
Grammar schools
Altrincham Grammar School for Girls, Altrincham Grammar School for Boys, Sale Grammar School and Stretford Grammar School are currently not oversubscribed by children in the catchment area.
Children in the Sale area who pass the entrance exam and apply on time have been offered a place at these grammar schools.
If you only include grammar schools on your application and your child does not pass the entrance exam, you will be allocated a Trafford school with a vacancy.
Further guidance
Every year, some families in the Sale area do not follow the application advice and are allocated a school with a vacancy in another area of Trafford. In previous years, this has been at Broadoak School, Lostock High School, or Wellacre Academy.
We’ll support your preferences where possible, but a place cannot be guaranteed.