Students from across Britain are back at school now, many of them embarking on the very last chapter in their secondary education.
Sixth form makes up the final two years of a young person’s secondary schooling, and for many, it will be when they prepare for and sit their A Level exams. How they do in these can have a ripple effect on which universities or tertiary institutions they get into, and as such, their career prospects after graduation.
We’ve taken a look at some of the best-performing state secondary schools and sixth form colleges across the North West when it comes to A Level results - creating a league table for parents based on the most recent performance data currently available (from the 2022/23 school year). Many fees-free but still selective grammar schools have naturally excelled, but university-sponsored colleges and even non-selective academies have also proven to be strong performers.
We have ranked them by their A Level performance point score - a scaled score based on the average number of points students managed to achieve across all of the A Level exams they took. Sixty is the highest number possible, equivalent to an A*, but we’ve only selected schools with at at least a B average. All schools on the list also had an overall Ofsted rating of ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ before this measure was dropped last week, meaning the quality of education provided, student behaviour and attitudes, school leadership and management, and student safeguarding have all been found to either meet or exceed government standards.
Here are the 19 schools that came out on top:

9. AldridgeUTC@MediaCityUK
Aldridge UTC is a university-sponsored technical college for students aged 13 to 19, in Salford, Greater Manchester. Its focus is on creative and digital subjects, and it was formerly rated ‘good’ by Ofsted. In the 2022/23 academic year, it had an A Level point score of 41.61 - giving it an average grade of B. | Google

10. Lancaster Girls' Grammar School
This is a girls’ secondary grammar school and sixth form in Lancaster. It has selective entry, meaning students usually need to pass an exam or meet certain criteria to get in. It was formerly rated ‘good’ by Ofsted. In the 2022/23 academic year, it had an A Level point score of 41.4 - giving it an average grade of B. | Google

11. Tauheedul Islam Girls' High School
Tauheedal is a Muslim girls’ secondary school and sixth form in Blackburn, Lancashire. It is fairly large, with about 880 pupils on its roll. Although it is an Islamic faith school, it welcomes applicants from all backgrounds. It was formerly rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted. In the 2022/23 academic year, it had an A Level point score of 41.31 - giving it an average grade of B. | Google

12. Upton Hall School FCJ
Upton Hall is a Catholic girls' grammar school in Birkenhead, Merseyside. It has selective entry, meaning students usually need to pass an exam or meet certain criteria to get in. It was formerly rated ‘good’ by Ofsted. In the 2022/23 academic year, it had an A Level point score of 40.1 - giving it an average grade of B. | Google