St Ambrose Barlow RC High School
Secondary · Voluntary aided school · Ages 11–16 · Manchester, Salford
Last distance offered · Year 7 2026
3.122 miles
Published by Salford City Council · offers on 2 March 2026
2015–2025 trend 🔒
Nearby schools' earlier years 🔒
St Ambrose Barlow RC High School is a secondary school in Manchester, Salford for ages 11–16 (voluntary aided school). Its latest Ofsted outcome is Good, from the inspection on 28 February 2024. Salford has published a last distance offered for this school for Year 7 2015 to 2026 entry.
St Ambrose Barlow RC High School catchment area: last distance offered
Parents often call this the catchment area: it's how far from the school the last child offered a place lived. It changes every year.
| Entry | Last distance offered |
|---|---|
| Year 7 2026 | 3.122 mi |
| Year 7 2025 | 🔒 With a pass |
| Year 7 2024 | 🔒 With a pass |
| Year 7 2023 | 🔒 With a pass |
| Year 7 2022 | 🔒 With a pass |
| Year 7 2021 | 🔒 With a pass |
| Year 7 2020 | 🔒 With a pass |
| Year 7 2019 | 🔒 With a pass |
And 4 earlier figures.
What the pass includes · How to read it: one past year, not a catchment
What the figures show
- The last child offered a Year 7 place in 2026 lived 3.122 miles away, the longest of the 6 Salford secondary schools with a published last distance (middle figure 1.49 miles).
- The Year 7 last distance for 2026 was further than in 2025 and further than in 2015, having swung sharply between some years.
- For Year 7 in 2026, 220 first-choice applications for 203 offers: 184 offers went to first-choice families and 36 first-choice families were not offered a place.
- In 2024/25, 38% got grade 5 or above in GCSE English and maths (England 45%), with an Attainment 8 score of 44.2 (England 46).
Worked out by Catchmently from the published figures on this page and those for other Salford schools. Distances are as published; how they were measured differs between admission authorities.
Key facts
- Address
- 37 Ash Drive, Wardley, Swinton, Manchester, M27 9QP
- Type
- Voluntary aided school
- Phase
- Secondary
- Ages
- 11–16
- Sector
- State-funded
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Council
- Salford
- Pupils on roll
- 1,078 January 2026 school census
- Free school meals
- 30% of pupils eligible
- Pupils per teacher
- 9.2
Official record: Get Information about Schools · as at 15 September 2026
Ofsted
Good Inspected 28 February 2024
Strengths
- “Pupils feel valued, cared for and happy at this welcoming school.”
- “They spoke warmly of their positive relationships with staff.”
- “Pupils feel that they matter to their teachers.”
To improve
- “However, in some other subjects, teachers’ strategies for identifying missing knowledge are less effective.”
- “Older pupils, who experienced a weaker curriculum in the past, have gaps in their learning that have not been identified or addressed.”
- “This means that some pupils in key stage 4 do not learn and remember the curriculum in these subjects as well as they should.”
Safeguarding: Effective
Quoted from the Ofsted report published 1 May 2024 (read the report). Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Exam results
| Measure | School | England |
|---|---|---|
| GCSE English and maths, grade 5 or above (2024/25) | 38% | 45% |
| Attainment 8 score (2024/25) | 44.2 | 46 |
Department for Education school performance data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Applications and offers
- 2026 Year 7 entry: 220 first-preference applications, 203 offers in total, 184 offers to first-preference applicants.
Department for Education, school-level applications and offers, figures on national offer day. Earlier years are in the pass.
Nearby secondary schools
Straight-line distance, in Salford.
- Co-op Academy Swinton 0.8 mi Good Last distance published
- Moorside High School 0.9 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- Co-op Academy Walkden 1.2 mi Good Last distance published
- Ellesmere Park High School 2.1 mi Good Last distance published
- The Lowry Academy 2.2 mi Good Last distance published
- Star Salford Academy 2.5 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- St Patrick's RC High School 2.6 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- All Hallows RC High School 2.7 mi School remains Good Last distance published