Which school has the best GCSE results in Tameside?

On 2025 Attainment 8, St Damian's RC Science College tops the table in Tameside with 55.1, against an England average of 46.0. Attainment 8 rewards intake as well as teaching, so compare a school's grade 5+ pass rate and, where published, its Progress 8 before reading the rank as a verdict.

When are the 2026 GCSE results for Tameside schools published?

Pupils receive their results in August, but school-by-school figures come from the DfE performance tables, which publish provisional results in the autumn (usually mid-October) and revised figures early in the new year. This table shows 2025 results, the 2024/25 academic year, and updates when the next release is imported.

What is Attainment 8?

Attainment 8 is the DfE's headline GCSE measure: the average points a school's pupils achieved across eight qualifications, with English and maths counted twice. A score of 50 means pupils averaged roughly a grade 5 across those subjects. No Progress 8 exists for 2025 because these pupils sat no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020.

Why does a school in Tameside show no GCSE results?

A school has no published figure when it had no Year 11 cohort in the year (a new school, or one that opened with younger year groups), when it converted to an academy and the DfE published results under its previous identity, or when it is independent and its pupils sat IGCSE, Pre-U or IB qualifications that the DfE tables do not count. Independent schools with a published figure are listed separately and unranked for that reason.

Tameside GCSE results 2025: secondary school league table

13 state secondary schools in Tameside ranked on their 2025 GCSE results (Attainment 8, the 2024/25 academic year, the latest DfE has published for every school), with grade 5+ and grade 4+ in English and maths, EBacc average point score and cohort size for each school against the England average. 3 schools with no published results are listed at the end. 3 independent schools with published results are listed separately, unranked.

Local Authority 16 state secondary schools 2024/25 results

Secondary schools in Tameside ranked on Attainment 8

13 of 16 schools have published 2025 results. Source: DfE school performance tables, 2024/25.

Secondary schools in Tameside ranked on Attainment 8, 2025 results
Rank	School	Attainment 8	Grade 5+ English & maths	Grade 4+ English & maths	EBacc APS	Pupils
–	England average	46.0	45%	65%	4.09	–
1	St Damian's RC Science College Ashton-under-Lyne · Voluntary aided school	55.1	61%	86%	5.12	161
2	Fairfield High School for Girls Manchester · Academy converter	52.6	58%	79%	4.84	196
3	Laurus Ryecroft Manchester · Free schools	51.6	51%	74%	4.76	208
4	Droylsden Academy Manchester · Academy sponsor led	47.7	49%	70%	4.34	171
5	Alder Community High School Hyde · Community school	46.6	39%	70%	3.94	176
6	Audenshaw School Manchester · Academy converter	45.5	50%	67%	3.82	221
7	St Thomas More RC College Manchester · Voluntary aided school	43.7	41%	69%	3.78	150
8	West Hill School Stalybridge · Academy converter	43.5	39%	61%	3.47	169
9	Longdendale High School Hyde · Academy converter	41.1	32%	54%	3.65	140
10	Dixons Ashton Academy Ashton-under-Lyne · Academy sponsor led	38.1	30%	50%	3.35	230
11	All Saints Catholic College Dukinfield · Academy converter	37.5	22%	47%	3.02	140
12	Dixons Pennine Academy Stalybridge · Academy converter	35.8	13%	34%	2.93	105
13	Rayner Stephens High School Dukinfield · Academy sponsor led	35.6	30%	47%	3.05	142
–	Denton Community Academy Manchester · Academy sponsor led · No published GCSE results	–	–	–	–	–
–	Hyde High School Hyde · Academy converter · No published GCSE results	–	–	–	–	–
–	Mossley Hollins High School Ashton-under-Lyne · Academy converter · No published GCSE results	–	–	–	–	–

Independent schools in Tameside with published GCSE results

Listed as published, not ranked. The DfE tables count only reformed GCSEs, so a school whose pupils sit IGCSE, Pre-U or the IB reports a lower figure than its results merit, or none at all. Compare independent schools on their own published examination results and inspection reports.

School	Attainment 8 (as published)	Grade 5+ English & maths	Pupils
Ashlea House School Manchester · Other independent school	5.1	0%	8
Safe Start School Tameside · Other independent school	4.5	0%	10
Trinity School Stalybridge · Other independent school	52.4	27%	11

How to read this table

Attainment 8 is the average points a school's pupils achieved across eight GCSE subjects: English and maths (double-weighted), three EBacc subjects (sciences, computing, history, geography, languages) and three further approved qualifications. The DfE publishes it for every state school; the England average for 2025 was 46.0.

Grade 5+ in English and maths is the share of pupils reaching a "strong pass" in both; grade 4+ is the "standard pass". EBacc APS is the average point score across the English Baccalaureate subjects, including pupils who did not enter them.

Progress 8 is not shown: the DfE published no Progress 8 for 2025 because these pupils sat no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020, the baseline it is measured from, and the same applies to 2026. Attainment 8 rewards intake as well as teaching, so a selective school will usually top an attainment-only table.

Ranks are shared where scores tie. Schools are ranked here on published results alone; our composite score, which also weighs Ofsted inspection, progress and attendance, orders the same schools on the best secondary schools page.

See the best secondary schools in Tameside on our composite score

Tameside GCSE results 2025: secondary school league table

Secondary schools in Tameside ranked on Attainment 8

Independent schools in Tameside with published GCSE results

More about schools in Tameside

Tameside GCSE results: common questions