The highest-achieving primary and secondary schools in the UK have been revealed in The Sunday Times Parent Power Guide 2026, with some of the North West’s education establishments, including schools in Greater Manchester, ranking among the best. A total of six schools in Manchester, plus a further 14 schools in Greater Manchester, featured in the top school rankings across the North West – some of which appeared in the guide’s top 10 rankings for schools nationally.
What is The Sunday Times Parent Power Guide?
The Sunday Times Parent Power Guide remains an essential resource for parents seeking the very best in education for their children. It includes a fully searchable national database of more than 2,000 schools by name, local authority, town, and postcode. Plus, there is an assessment of academic results on a school-by-school basis, allowing parents to compare the performance of a given school with other schools in the same area, local authority or nationally.
The Parent Power Guide ranks 400 of the best state secondary and grammar schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 35 11-16 schools and 50 sixth form colleges, 30 IB state schools, and the top 100 state schools in Scotland. It also ranks the top 300 independent schools in the UK and 17 under Scotland’s Highers and Standards system, the 30 11-16 schools, and 50 IB schools. All of which are ranked by performance at A-level and GCSE in summer 2025.
It also ranks 1,000 top primary schools in England based on KS2 results published in 2024.
The North West winners in The Sunday Times Parent Power Guide 2026
One of the winners was Altrincham Grammar School for Girls, which achieved two awards – ‘State Secondary School of the Year in the Northwest 2026’ and ‘State Secondary School of the Year in the Northwest for Academic Excellence 2026’. The school also came in ninth place in the national rankings for the top secondary state schools.
When it comes to independent secondary schools in the North West region, The Manchester Grammar School scooped up the ‘Independent Secondary School of the Year in the Northwest 2026’ award, and Withington Girls’ School was named ‘Independent Secondary School of the Year in the Northwest for Academic Excellence 2026’.
Plus, Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High School and Sixth Form College in Blackburn was named ‘Comprehensive School of the Year in the Northwest 2026’ and Nicol Mere School in Wigan was named ‘Primary School of the Year in the Northwest 2026’. In the 2026 Parent Power National Awards for state secondary schools, Holy Cross RC High School in Chorley was named State 11-16 Secondary School of the Year 2026 and University of Liverpool Maths School was named State Sixth Form College of the Year 2026.
Top state secondary schools in the North West
| Regional rank | National rank | School Name | Location |
| 1 | 9 | Altrincham Grammar School for Girls *State Secondary School of the Year in the Northwest 2026 and State Secondary School of the Year in the Northwest for Academic Excellence 2026 | Altrincham |
| 2 | 33 | Altrincham Grammar School for Boys | Altrincham |
| 3 | 38 | Sale Grammar School | Sale |
| 4 | 43 | The Blue Coat School, Liverpool | Liverpool |
| 5 | 51 | St Ambrose College | Altrincham |
| 6 | 60 | Loreto Grammar School | Altrincham |
| 7 | 72 | Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High School and Sixth Form College | Blackburn |
| 8 | 86 | Urmston Grammar | Manchester |
| 9 | 98 | Lancaster Royal Grammar School | Lancaster |
| 10 | 106 | Cheadle Hulme High School | Stockport |
Top comprehensive secondary schools in the North West
| Regional rank | National rank | School Name | Location |
| 1 | 72 | Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High School and Sixth Form College *Comprehensive School of the Year in the Northwest 2026 | Blackburn |
| 2 | 106 | Cheadle Hulme High School | Stockport |
| 3 | 181 | Didsbury High School | Manchester |
| 4 | 185 | Hazel Grove High School | Stockport |
| 5 | 198= | Tauheedul Islam Boys’ High School | Blackburn |
| 6 | 203 | The King David High School, Manchester | Manchester |
| 7 | 223 | Wellington School | Altrincham |
| 8 | 227 | Cockermouth School | Cockermouth |
| 9 | 246= | Formby High School | Liverpool |
| 10 | 297 | The Belvedere Academy | Liverpool |
Top secondary independent schools in the North West
| Regional rank | National rank | School Name | Location |
| 1 | 35 | Withington Girls’ School *Independent Secondary School of the Year in the Northwest for Academic Excellence 2026 | Manchester |
| 2 | 38= | The Manchester Grammar School *Independent Secondary School of the Year in the Northwest | Manchester |
| 3 | 79 | The King’s School, Chester | Chester |
| 4 | 91 | Manchester High School for Girls | Manchester |
| 5 | 137 | The Grange School | Northwich |
| 6 | 139 | The Queen’s School, Chester | Chester |
| 7 | 147 | Windermere School | Windermere |
| 8 | 157 | The King’s School in Macclesfield | Prestbury |
| 9 | 183 | Cheadle Hulme School | Cheadle Hulme |
| 10 | 193 | Stockport Grammar School | Stockport |
Top primary schools in the North West
| Regional rank | National rank | School Name | Location |
| 1 | 3 | Nicol Mere School *Primary School of the Year in the Northwest 2026 | Wigan |
| 2 | 19 | Yarlside Academy | Barrow-in-Furness |
| 3 | 33 | St Wilfrid’s CofE Primary Academy | Wigan |
| 4 | 35 | Lacey Green Primary Academy | Wilmslow |
| 5 | 65 | Altrincham CofE Primary School | Altrincham |
| 6 | 94= | Lower Peover CofE Primary School | Knutsford |
| 7 | 96= | Garstang St Thomas CofE Primary School | Preston |
| 8 | 100 | Delamere CofE Primary Academy | Tarporley |
| 9 | 106 | Brooklands Primary School | Sale |
| 10 | 110 | Ashdene Primary School | Wilmslow |
The 33rd edition of the guide is now available to read online here and available in print in a 28-page supplement on Sunday 7th December.