Free school · Trafford
North Cestrian School
- Secondary
- Ages 11–18
Term dates
Free schools can set their own term dates. Many follow Trafford council's dates, shown below as a guide, but check with the school, especially for INSET days.
2026/27
2027/28
Admissions
Places for Year 7 are applied for through your home council, not the school.
Apply for a secondary school place on GOV.UK
How places are given: there's no entrance test. When there are more applicants than places, places usually go by criteria such as siblings, distance or catchment area. Check the council's or school's admissions policy for the exact rules.
How many families applied: Year 7
For September 2026, 112 families put this school as their first choice, and 175 places were offered. 89 of the families who put it first got a place (79%).
| Entry | Places offered | Put it first | Got their first choice |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | 175 | 112 | 79% |
| September 2025 | 176 | 156 | 67% |
| September 2024 | 170 | 156 | 71% |
Offers made on national offer day, from the Department for Education. Waiting lists and appeals can change things later. The hardest schools to get into.
Ofsted inspection
Short (ungraded) inspection, 20 November 2024: Standards maintained.
From Ofsted's published inspection data (Open Government Licence). Report cards and older grades use different scales, so they can't be compared directly.
About and location
- Type
- Free school
- Phase
- Secondary
- Ages
- 11–18
- Pupils
- 799 (capacity 755)
- Gender
- Mixed
- Academy trust
- THE HAMBLIN EDUCATION TRUST
- Phone
- 01619281856
- Address
- Dunham Road, Altrincham, WA14 4AJ
School details from the Department for Education's register of schools (Open Government Licence). Report a correction.