Sale Grammar School 11+ guide

Thinking about applying to Sale Grammar School? Find out everything you need to know about admissions and how to prepare your child for success in the 11 plus.

Key information about Sale Grammar School

• Address: Marsland Road, Sale, Cheshire, M33 3NH
• Number of pupils: 1,300+
• Admissions contact: [email protected]
• Number of places in Year 7: 190
• 11+ exam: Trafford 11 plus
• Catchment area: Yes

Dates for your diary

• Thursday 24th April 2025: Trafford 11 plus registration opens at midday
• Friday 20th June 2025: Trafford 11 plus registration closes at midday
• Thursday 3rd July 2025: Sale Grammar School open evening
• Thursday 4th September 2025: final exam details are sent to registered families by this date
• Monday 15th September 2025: Trafford 11 plus exam
• Mid-October 2025: parents receive Trafford 11 plus results
• Friday 31st October 2025: national deadline to apply for secondary school places
• Monday 2nd March 2026: secondary school national offers day

Dates can vary, so always check with your target schools!

About Sale Grammar School

Sale Grammar School is a co-educational selective school in Trafford, Greater Manchester, known for its welcoming atmosphere, strong academic results, and commitment to developing confident, compassionate young people. The school blends academic rigour with a genuine focus on student wellbeing, creating an environment where every child is encouraged to succeed both in and beyond the classroom.

Admission to Year 7 is based on performance in the Trafford Grammar Schools Consortium 11 plus exam. The school is often oversubscribed, with priority given to applicants who live within the catchment area, though some out-of-area places may be offered.

At Sale Grammar School, learning goes hand in hand with personal development. Students benefit from high-quality teaching, a wide-ranging curriculum, and a culture that values curiosity, independence, and kindness. The school offers a rich co-curricular programme, including sports, music, volunteering, and academic clubs, helping students to explore their interests and grow in confidence.

With consistently strong GCSE and A level outcomes, Sale Grammar School supports students to aim high and achieve their goals. Many go on to top universities, apprenticeships, or professional careers, leaving school with not just qualifications, but the skills and mindset to thrive in a changing world.

How to apply to Sale Grammar School

Sale Grammar School is a selective school. This means that your child will need to take the 11 plus exam to be eligible for a place.

Sale Grammar School is a member of the Trafford Grammar Schools Consortium, along with four other grammar schools in the Trafford area. All five grammar schools use the same 11 plus exam. This means that your child will only have to take the exam once, regardless of how many schools in the Consortium you are applying to.

Registration for the Trafford 11 plus opens on Thursday 24th April 2025 and closes on Friday 20th June 2025. The exam will take place on Monday 15th September 2025 and you’ll receive your child’s results in mid-October. You can then use these results to decide whether to apply for a place at Sale Grammar School.

To apply, you’ll need to name the school as one of your preferred schools on the secondary school common application form. This will be available on your home council website from early September and must be submitted by 31st October.

Remember – passing the 11 plus doesn’t guarantee that your child will be allocated a place at your preferred school. Many grammar schools are often oversubscribed with qualified children. Schools and their admissions authorities work through admissions criteria to prioritise children for places. We’ve included the admissions criteria for Sale Grammar School below.

What subjects are on the entrance exam?

Children applying to Sale Grammar School take the Trafford 11 plus. This consists of two one-hour papers. Your child will take both papers on Monday 15th September, with a short break in-between.

The papers are entirely multiple-choice and consist of questions in:

• Maths: based on the Key Stage 2 national curriculum
• Verbal reasoning: solving problems with written information. This also includes some reading comprehension
• Non-verbal reasoning: solving problem with visual information, such as shapes, diagrams and pictures

How does place allocation work at Sale Grammar School?

After the 11 plus, your child’s marks are added together to create a raw score. This is then converted into an age-standardised score to take into account your child’s age in years and months at the time of taking the test. The qualifying mark for entry to Sale Grammar School is 334.

If the number of children who have met the qualifying standard for entry to the school exceeds the number of places available, Sale Grammar School applies oversubscription criteria. Children are prioritised for places in the following order:

1. Looked after and previously looked after children
2. Up to 15 applicants who qualify for pupil premium
3. Applicants who live in the priority admission area
4. Applicants who live outside the priority admission area

What is the catchment area at Sale Grammar School?

Sale Grammar School has a priority admission area. Children who live within this area are prioritised for places. This area is defined by the postcode M33, plus Trafford Authority residents who live within the M23, WA14, and WA15 postcodes.

How can I help my child prepare for the Trafford 11 plus?

The 11 plus exam is designed to be challenging. Here are our top tips to help your child prepare for the Trafford 11 plus in September 2025.

Bitesize learning

It’s important to build a good knowledge base before the 11 plus. Using a ‘little and often’ approach when learning is key – our brains encode new information more effectively when dealing with smaller ‘chunks’ of information. For children aged 10–11, child psychologists recommend regular study sessions of 20–30 minutes.

Atom Home makes learning a more enjoyable process for your child. They'll explore exciting worlds full of interactive questions, earning coins to spend in the Atom shop. Atom adapts to your child, showing them questions at just the right level of difficulty to keep them motivated.

Read widely

11 plus exams test your child’s ability to analyse and interpret written information. Regular reading is a great way to help your child build these skills.

Encourage them to read books from different genres and by a diverse range of authors. Increasing the variety of your child’s reading will help them understand different styles, tones and purposes. Meanwhile, reading a little every day will help widen their vocabulary, sharpen their analytical thinking, and enhance their imagination.

Refine exam technique

When your child feels confident with the topics they’ve learnt in Year 5, they’ll be ready to put their knowledge to the test.

Practice tests can help your child develop problem-solving skills and build confidence working under test conditions. They’re also a great way to consolidate learning and highlight knowledge gaps for further improvement.

With Atom Home, you'll unlock online mock tests and printable practice papers. Enjoy automatic marking and progress tracking with the online tests, and help your child get familiar with the real exam experience with printable practice papers.

Celebrate progress

Setting regular, achievable goals and celebrating your child’s progress – no matter how big or small – will help keep their motivation high.

Make sure to encourage a growth mindset. This means celebrating effort, as well as achievement! When your child makes mistakes or struggles to understand a particular topic, help them understand that they’ll improve through practice. Regular praise will help your child improve their resilience when tackling new and challenging topics.