Chetham's School of Music
School summary
Music sits at the heart of everything at Chetham's, a specialist independent school in Manchester where pupils aged 8 to 18 build their schooling around serious musical training. With just 334 on roll, it is a small and tightly focused community, and entry at 11 brings children into an environment designed for young musicians rather than a conventional all-rounder school. Boarding is available, and the Independent Schools Inspectorate rated the school excellent overall, including for personal development, with all compliance standards met. It is a setting best suited to families whose child is committed to music to an unusual degree.
Where every mark matters.
Places are limited and demand is high, so exam performance is what sets candidates apart. Passmate turns the months ahead into ten focused minutes a day on the exact topics this school tests.
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Inspection reports
- ISI rating
- excellent
- ISI personal development
- excellent
- Last inspected
- 23 April 2024
Teaching & academics
The academic programme runs alongside the musical specialism, offering GCSEs and A-levels with Music understandably the dominant subject at both stages. Beyond music, pupils take Mathematics, modern languages in German and French, and at GCSE Art & Design, broadening at sixth form into History, the sciences and English Literature. The sixth form is sizeable for such a small school, with 141 of the 334 pupils studying at A-level, and Music Technology features prominently among their choices. Around 18 per cent of pupils receive SEN support.
Languages
Popular GCSE subjects
Head · Miss Nicola Smith
Sixth form
- Sixth-form pupils
- 141
A-level subjects
Qualifications offered
School life & ethos
- Religious character
- None
- Boarding
- Yes
- SEN support
- 17.66%
- EHC plans
- 1.2%
Schools nearby
Abbey College Manchester
Manchester, North West
INTO Manchester
Manchester, North West
Sol Christian Academy
North West
Tiferes
Salford, North West
Beis Ruchel Girls School
North West
Beis Hatalmud School
Salford, North West
Watch Passmate decide how to teach.
Answer as a child would. Left: what they see. Right: what it learns about them.
A rare specialist school where music shapes the whole day, judged excellent across the board. Right for the seriously committed young musician, not the casual applicant.
That’s where Passmate comes in. Tutoring is the most effective thing in a child’s preparation - a well-tutored child can outperform the vast majority of their peers. Passmate works alongside your tutor, not instead of them: it learns how your child thinks, finds the gaps, and shows the tutor exactly where to spend each session - so the limited time you have lands on what actually decides a place.
Works alongside your child’s tutor - not instead of them.
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Chetham's School of Music 11+: frequently asked questions
Compiled from public data. Last checked 5 June 2026.