Welcome from the Principal
At Loreto, we are committed to enabling you to develop academically, spiritually and personally during your time with us and to get you ready for your next stage of your life whether it is university, apprenticeship, or employment. We have an excellent team of staff who are experts in sixth form education and will support and challenge you to achieve your very best and prepare you for the future. Choosing your college is a big decision; our website and prospectus aims to guide you through the options so that in the important transition to foundation, intermediate or advanced level study you find the right college and course for you. We encourage you to take time to explore the range of options available to you at Loreto. Be curious, research and ask questions. Visit our website and courses pages where you will find more information about the superb facilities and campus and your subject areas of interest. We look forward to meeting you and to enabling you to get a sense of the values which underpin our Catholic ethos: Excellence, Freedom, Joy, Sincerity, Truth, Justice and Internationality.
Mission statement
Loreto College is centred in God, rooted in Christ and animated by the spirit of Mary Ward, the founder of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Our vision is that it will be an educational community where each person has the experience of being loved and valued as a sacred individual created by a loving God; a community where students enjoy an enriching and liberating education that helps them grow into the fullness of life and empowers them to be people of courage who are alive to the needs of humanity and committed to making a better world.
What does this mean for me as a Loreto student?
It means that every student is precious and important, and we seek to give you the best education, so you will be able to develop all aspects of your person, including your self-esteem, dignity and spiritual beliefs.
We are a Catholic college and welcome students of all faiths and of none. We are united by the College’s values of Sincerity, Justice, Truth, Freedom, Excellence, Internationality and joy. These values proudly underpin everything we do at Loreto .
At Loreto we believe all students have the right to receive an overall education which will enable them, in the light of the faith of the Catholic Church, to engage with the deepest questions of life. As we work and study together, we unpack and develop our Mary Ward Values.
All of our students take part in a Core RE programme, which provides a weekly opportunity to look at important themes in religion, spirituality and social justice. This means that you will have time to discuss your ideas and listen to the ideas of others. Understanding religion and why it is important to so many people is an important skill for the future.
“RE lessons showed me a new side to the world I’m living in”
We seek to prepare religiously literate young people who have the knowledge, understanding and skills to think spiritually, ethically and theologically, and who are aware of the demands of religious commitment in everyday life.
Support
As a Loreto student, you will receive outstanding support, whatever your programme of study or your desired outcome, our Hall based pastoral system provides a solid network of information, advice and guidance at every level ably assisted by our support staff, counsellors and award winning careers service.
Tradition
In joining our college in September, you will become part of a long established academic community. Though our buildings and facilities are modern and up-to-date, we have been educating generations of Manchester students since 1851. Not only that, you will become part of a worldwide Loreto community, a member of an international network of schools and colleges spanning the globe. Loreto students join a community widely recognised for its excellence. Loreto was recently invited to Buckingham Palace by His Majesty the King in honour of services to education.
Progression
Living and learning at Loreto College is a wonderful experience in itself. It is also an excellent preparation for progression to higher education. The intensive help and thorough guidance that Loreto students receive in the process of application to university and further study is outstanding. Loreto students aspire to and achieve places in the highest seats of learning in the country.
Success
In becoming a Loreto student, you will be joining a highly successful, high achieving academic community. Our most recent Ofsted inspection stated “Students who study at Loreto do exceptionally well”.
Facilities
Come and visit us; you will agree that the facilities are excellent. They include two student cafeterias, a coffee pod and grab and go refreshment outlet. We have IT access in all classrooms for student use, a multi-media learning resource centre and sport centre. Ellis and Kennedy is a £20M performing arts building, housing its own music recording studios, editing suites, media production space, television studio, in-house cinema, dance studio, industry standard theatre and drop-in Apple Mac IT Suite. Our most recent campus expansion including the St Vincent’s building and the Our Lady’s building are state of the art purpose built venues with 20 classrooms, a lecture theatre, dedicated study centre areas and plenty of green space for reflection.
Enrichment
Loreto’s enrichment programme will enable you to widen your college experience with a wide range of activities from Debate club, Duke of Edinburgh, Philosophy Society or Bible study group. Join one of our immensely successful competitive sports teams or just play for fun. Our choirs and music ensembles perform through the year. The annual college musical in January and the summer play, in addition to numerous other opportunities, really showcase our students’ talents. More information on our Enrichment can be found here
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Loreto College Prospectus 2025
Download a copy hereOur 2024 exam highlights
Best ever results, above National Averages across all measures
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99.4%
Pass rate above the national average
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60%
high grades (A*-B) awarded. Well above national average
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31
students offered places to study at Oxbridge (2025)