William Hulme's Grammar School
Spring Bridge Road, Manchester, M16 8PR
- Phase
- All-through
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 3 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Christian
- Trust
- UNITED LEARNING TRUST
- Principal
- Mrs Kate Heaton
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- United Learning Trust
- SEN provision
- SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, VI - Visual Impairment, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Manchester Rusholme
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,300
- Pupils on roll
- 1,542
- URN
- 135296
- Local authority
- Manchester
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01612262054
About this school
William Hulme's Grammar School is a Christian all-through academy in Manchester. It teaches children aged 3 to 18 and has 1,542 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected William Hulme's Grammar School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 18 June 2025, where inspectors found the school has improved significantly. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 60 | 60 | 60 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 65% | 63% | 72% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 5% | 0% | 8% |
| Expected standard in reading | 78% | 82% | 92% |
| Expected standard in maths | 78% | 77% | 85% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 88% | 82% | 85% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 104.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 104.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.40 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 180 | 179 | 182 |
| Attainment 8 score | 52.2 | 49.1 | 51.9 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.21 0.00 to +0.42 | +0.40 +0.19 to +0.61 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 56% | 52% | 56.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 76% | 67.6% | 77.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 38% | 30.7% | 51.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.6 | 4.3 | 4.8 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How William Hulme's Grammar School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Manchester average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 65% | 52.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 63% | 54.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 72% | 57.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Manchester average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 52.2 | 42.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 49.1 | 44.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 51.9 | 43.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,595 |
| 2023/24 | 1,611 |
| 2024/25 | 1,590 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How William Hulme's Grammar School compares
William Hulme's Grammar School ranked 8th of 30 secondary schools in Manchester for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 81% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 32% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 51.9 | 6.4% | 40.9% | 1,542 | — |
| Abraham Moss Community School | 39.7 | 8% | 53.5% | 1,793 | 4.6 miles |
| Bolton St Catherine's Academy | 34.3 | 9.1% | 53.7% | 1,003 | 11.7 miles |
| Kassim Darwish Grammar School for Boys | 62.2 | — | 0% | 145 | 0.2 miles |
| Whalley Range 11-18 High School | 52.1 | 7.1% | 56.4% | 1,712 | 0.2 miles |
| St Bede's College | 30.3 | — | 0% | 681 | 0.4 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 40.91%
- English as an additional language
- 61.4%
- Overall absence
- 6.4%
- Persistent absence
- 16.7%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Abraham Moss Community School4.6 miles
All-through · Manchester
-
Bolton St Catherine's Academy11.7 miles
All-through · Bolton
-
Kassim Darwish Grammar School for Boys0.2 miles
Independent schools · Manchester
-
Whalley Range 11-18 High School0.2 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
St Bede's College0.4 miles
Independent schools
Other schools in Manchester
William Hulme's Grammar School ranks 57th of the 252 ranked primary schools in Manchester, and William Hulme's Grammar School ranks 12th of the 59 ranked secondary schools in Manchester.
- Abraham Moss Community School All-through
- Collyhurst Nursery School Nursery
- Martenscroft Nursery School & Children's Centre Nursery
- Sunny Brow Nursery School Nursery
- Abbey Hey Primary Academy Primary
- Abbott Community Primary School Primary
- Acacias Community Primary School Primary
- Acre Hall Primary School Primary
- Aldwyn Primary School Primary
- Alkrington Primary School Primary
- All Saints C of E Primary School Primary
- All Saints Church of England Primary School, Stand Primary
Common questions
- What ages does William Hulme's Grammar School teach?
- William Hulme's Grammar School teaches children aged 3 to 18. It is an all-through school in Manchester.
- Who is the principal of William Hulme's Grammar School?
- The principal of William Hulme's Grammar School is Mrs Kate Heaton, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has William Hulme's Grammar School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected William Hulme's Grammar School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at William Hulme's Grammar School?
- William Hulme's Grammar School has 1,542 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 18.
- Is William Hulme's Grammar School full?
- William Hulme's Grammar School has capacity for 1,300 pupils and 1,542 on roll (119%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is William Hulme's Grammar School a faith school?
- Yes. William Hulme's Grammar School is designated Christian.
- Is William Hulme's Grammar School a selective school?
- No. William Hulme's Grammar School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Does William Hulme's Grammar School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records William Hulme's Grammar School as having nursery classes.
- Is William Hulme's Grammar School part of an academy trust?
- William Hulme's Grammar School is part of UNITED LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does William Hulme's Grammar School have?
- The schools register lists William Hulme's Grammar School's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; VI - Visual Impairment; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have William Hulme's Grammar School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 65% in 2022/23 and 72% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does William Hulme's Grammar School compare with other schools in Manchester?
- William Hulme's Grammar School ranked 8th of 30 secondary schools in Manchester for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 81% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 32% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is William Hulme's Grammar School's absence rate?
- William Hulme's Grammar School's overall absence rate is 6.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are William Hulme's Grammar School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, William Hulme's Grammar School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 1 July 2026.