Bowker Vale Competitors

The University of Manchester is recognised globally for its pioneering research, outstanding teaching and learning, and commitment to social responsibility. Part of the Russell Group, we’re ranked 35th in the QS World University Rankings, 2025 (6th in the UK) and 46th in the Academic Ranking of World Universities, 2025. The power of our social and environmental impact has been recognised on a global scale as the only university in the top ten in both the QS World University Sustainability Rankings and Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, for our contribution towards the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our university is a powerhouse of research and discovery; 26 Nobel laureates are among our former staff and students, and we were ranked fifth for research power – the quality and scale of research and impact – in the Research Excellence Framework (REF), 2021. Ranked 20th most international university in the world according to Times Higher Education (2025), our community includes more than 44,000 students, 12,800 staff and 550,000 alumni from 190 countries, working together to tackle the world’s biggest challenges. We’re one of the most popular institutions in the UK for undergraduate applications, according to UCAS, and were the most targeted university by the UK’s leading employers in 2024 (The Graduate Market). Learn more at www.manchester.ac.uk.

The Manchester Grammar School is one of the nation’s truly great schools. Academically, we stand amongst the very best schools in the country. What makes us remarkable is that our pupils achieve outstanding academic results alongside tremendous success – nationally and internationally – in sport, music, drama and many other areas. Founded in 1515, the School proceeded to build a reputation as one of the country’s leading educational establishments, a position we still hold today as an independent day school. The School was founded in 1515, and during the last 500 years, the School has adapted and evolved to remain one of the country's most outstanding schools. However, our core mission to educate the brightest young men in the North of England, regardless of their social, cultural, religious and financial backgrounds, has not. We treat each boy as a unique individual, and aim to teach boys to think for themselves and to develop a life-long love of learning. Lessons are taught by academic specialists with a passion for their subject, and teaching goes well beyond the narrow confines of examination syllabuses, offering our students the best preparation for the very top universities, both in this country and abroad. Almost all our leavers go on to university, and there is a strong tradition of boys progressing to Oxford, Cambridge and other Russell Group universities. Our Junior School opened in September 2008 in award-winning accommodation, admitting boys from age 7, and there is a strong focus in our Junior School curriculum on creativity, academic enrichment and skills-based learning. There is, however, much more to an MGS education than what happens in the classroom. What makes this School truly special are the outstanding achievements of our pupils in areas such as sport, music and drama.

At Bury College we aim to provide you with the best possible student experience, offering high quality academic and vocational programmes in a host of subjects and giving you outstanding choice.