Cheadle Hulme & Schools

[musbury]

We are moving to Cheadle Hulme or surrounds next summer (July 2013) and my little boy 3 will start reception and my daughter who is 19 months old needs a good nursery.

I'm going a bit crazy with the school hunting, house hunting, nursery hunting etc...would be great if someone gave me some advice or insight into the schools and nurseries in the area. So far I've looked at Cheadle Hulme School, Stockport Grammar and Lady Barn House for Reception entry Sep 2013. Lady Barn looked good, but they wouldn't let me register as they have already got more registrations over the places they have. They have got him on a waiting list. I think its very unlikely that he might get a place there. I'm visiting Cheadle hulme school and Stockport grammar next week and any one sending their kids there please can you let me know what the schools are like?

Nursery wise, so far I've looked at tiny toes and Daisy nook. Haven't visited them yet, but any advice on good nurseries in the area will be great.

Can mums in the area also please let me know what is it like to live in Cheadle hulme or Bramhall? We'll be renting for a year or two before we buy, but any information on good areas to rent, areas to avoid would be great.

Thanks a million!

[sherbetpips]

Cheadle Hulme school is very good and very local if you live in the area. That being said all the local primaries are also exceptional such as hurst head and pownall. Stockport grammar is a high achieving high pressure school but with amazing results bit further to travel thou as it is in davenport. Don't bother with Hillcrest. You don't say what your budget is but with both areas you want the bramhall side of cheadle Hulme and the bramhall centre (not hazel grove/davenport) side of bramhall. Cheadle Hulme is slightly cheaper to rent/buy. lots of housing estates but also some lovely unique properties.
Re nurseries depends on which direction you will be travelling in, there is also nu nu nurseries and a big one near John Lewis lots of others in the area as well as a healthy selection of child minders.

[PropositionJoe]

There's not a massive difference academically between CHS and SGS

[musbury]

Thanks Sherbetpips, I'm visiting CHS and Stockport grammar soon. I must try and drive through the areas you mentioned. We are looking at renting a 4 bed, max budget is £2000/month. Would Wilmslow be too far away for these schools? The big nursery near JL is that called kids allowed?

[musbury]

Thx PropositionJoe, I heard SGS is more academic, not sure if my kids will like that. My only concern with CHS is that the primary school is not separate, im worried that kids of all ages will be on the playground together, could be daunting for the little ones? Its my opinion, but I'll have to visit the school before I can comment!

[RaisinHell]

Hi, we live locally. No Wilmslow would not be too far away for these schools, well not CHS anyway, SGS is a bit further. Yes the big nursery near JL is Kids Allowed and has a great reputation. I don't think there's much to choose academically between CHS and SGS at all and of the two I would choose CHS. The junior school has its own playgrounds for the younger ones so whilst it is all on the same site there aren't older kids on the younger kids' playground.

However if you choose to live in Wilmslow then that opens up other possibilities for you too, you could also look at The Ryleys School and Pownall Hall School, both have nurseries attached too.

Of course there are plenty of great outstanding state options in these areas too.

Good luck with your move.

[kimlek]

Hi - my 3 girls go to Lady Barn House School which I think is fantastic. If you are keen then it is worth putting your name down - just keep asking to go on the waiting list as a lot do relocate before they take up their place. We live near Wilmslow and it's a 15 - 20 min drive, so certainly okay. My girls used to go to Alderley Edge Girls, which I wouldn't recommend for many reasons. My youngest went to Pownall Hall Nursery in Wilmslow which I thought was great - although unsure about the lack of girls beyond nursery. Little Acorns Nursery has a good reputation (near John Lewis as well).
Hope this helps!

[musbury]

Thank you RaisinHell and kimlek, dh went to assessment in CHS today and came out happy and smiling. He said he had a great time. SGS will soon invite us for an assessment I think. Between the two I prefer CHS, but Lady barn is still on my top list after much research, think lady barn gives us the choice at secondary level. If we are successful with the place on the waiting list with Lady barn we will definitely go there. I'll also enquire about Little Acorns nursery, thanks very much.

[gwenner]

My 2 children go to LBHS - DS in Year 1 and DD in Nursery. My 2 kids went to Kids Allowed from about 12 weeks too - it's an Outstanding (Ofsted) nursery by and large, not cheap but you get what you pay for. My kids certainly had some fantastic key workers, some of whom have become family friends.

Personally, I chose to move mine from Kids Allowed preschool to LBHS for nursery as I think the structure that LBHS offers sets them up well for starting school and my DD has certainly been considerably happier and content - in fact, is thriving in nursery at LBHS now whereas we'd got to an uncomfortable, unbreakable routine of tears on drop off at preschool which had got really wearing for both of us. It also meant both DS and DD could go to school together and it saves me one drop off, which is great in the morning !

We live some distance away from Cheadle Hulme itself and I commute in as I work local to LBHS, hence why we've always chosen schools/nursery in this locale. We do plan to move to the area but have been holding off owing to recession/job changes and just the general trauma of having to make it look like 2 kids don't live in your house in order to sell it, rather than it looking like it's been ransacked.

LBHS is a truly fantastic school. We looked at local schools and quickly discounted and also looked at other private schools. I guess it's what works for you, I just knew when I walked into LBHS and I had my DS's name on waitlist for ages. I registered DD for a place when she was a couple of years old to be sure she got in !

What I like best is their commitment to find your child's strength or talent and nurture it. It's a happy, friendly place where the kids are very polite and it has an immensely familial, positive atmosphere. I've lots of friends who have made the same move as us from nursery to LBHS and I have to say everyone I speak to is thrilled with the school. My DS is getting very into French in Yr 1 which is great. His confidence has really come on and I see that he is being nurtured by LBHS and it's immensely kind, caring staff.

For those of us that work, LBHS offers a pretty nifty breakfast club and after school care as well as holiday club. There's a strong PTA and we have decent Mum's nights out, there's lots for people to get involved in. The school fund raisers are decent too, a fab Xmas fair and a summer ball.

I'd write a letter saying how much you'd like a place for your child and why. We did for DS and I know that some parents hold multiple places then make up their minds late - as one of our friend's had been told they couldn't get a place (for our DD's best friend from nursery, eeek!) but then one came free.

Hope this helps. We love it, feel free to PM if you want more info.

[musbury]

gwenner thanks so much for all the information about Lady Barn House, I wrote a letter and spoke to them numerous times on the phone and all places are now filled. They said they will let me know if any one withdraws and a place becomes free. But we cant wait in limbo, we have to decide on an area as we are selling our house and moving. We are now looking at Altrincham Prep School and move to Altrincham as an option, I don't want DS to go to a big school for primary. I want him to have the choice at secondary. I really wished we got Lady Barn :(

[mathsconundrum]

I only have experience of SGS but can highly recommend it. Lovely prep section, good facilities and because of link to SGS Seniors use of pool etc.

[careerbreakMum]

This is probably too late! I don't know CHS but have some experience of other schools. My 2 go to SGS and I don't think of it as high-pressure, kids are encouraged (given!) but neither of my 2 dislike the school! The Junior section is separate from the Seniors but use swimming pool, astro turf etc. You might like to know that Kids Allowed are opening a new nursery opposite SGS in September 2013. I live in wilmslow and the commute could be better, but isn't that bad (generally 25 mins door to door). SGS have free before-schhol care so you can drop off from 8am onwards. From Year 1 upwards there is a school bus.

I looked round Little Acorns but was put off by the very pushy management team who wanted me to sign up and pay there and then. Pownall Hall is quite traditional but beautiful surroundings. Wilmslow Prep which is currently all-girls except for their on-site nursery is going co-ed in September 2013. I have heard mixed reports from the Ryleys - some parents really like it, others have don't.

No idea about commuting to CHS but I take the woodford route to SGS as Bramhall route is very conjested unless you leave at silly o'clock!

Hope this helps.

[backfromseoul]

Sorry to wake an old thread but it pains me to see the "don't bother with Hillcrest" comment on this thread whenever I google Manchester schools. I just thought I'd write that they've done fabulously with my nephew and niece who needed a lot of support when they arrived at the school. Different parents are looking for such different qualities in a school that these forums can be pretty unhelpful sometimes.

[DrippingLizzie]

Agreed, backfromseoul. These dismissive 'don't bother' statements make me really cross. Different schools meet the needs of different children, and I'd suggest the only way parents can obtain the educational best fit is by visiting the schools in person and forming their own judgement rather than attaching too much credence to snooty forum comments. A friend of mine has her son at Hillcrest and waxes lyrical about the place.

[Norudeshitrequired]

Hillcrest is considering applying to become a free school so the comments might not be too unjustified. If someone wants a private school then at this stage there has to be some caution about looking at Hillcrest because it might not remain in the private sector,

[kimlek]

Musbury - did you decide?

[Motherofthree3]

My children go to Pownall Hall school and find the statement above laughable. Finances appear to be very healthy, it is a thriving school with new people joining all the time. in fact we've had quite a few from Wilmslow prep since they've gone co-ed! The new head is spending lots money on the playground, in fact tens of thousands to improve their magnificent grounds even further. Academically couldn't ask for more. my children are on track to go to the selective high school they want to go to without any pressure from me or the school.
Also wjas1210 didn't you post another comment the same day saying your children go to Pownall? make your mind up! where do they go!

[musbury]

Update on this thread, since my last post in Jan 13. My son got into Lady Barn House School in the end. We were on the waiting list and we wrote a letter to the head explaining how much we loved the school, thanks to gwenner, your advice certainly worked!. They called us in Feb 13 and asked me to bring my son for an assessment. The assessment took 2 hours, I had to leave him in their current nursery class and he spent the time there with other children. He came out happy when I picked him up. Late afternoon, Mrs Marsh, the head teacher rang me and said he got the place!. I don't really know what exactly they did, but I think they were looking for the child's ability to concentrate and listening capability. It was such a relief, but also a nightmare, we had to pull out of Altrincham Prep School, although we paid our non-refundable deposit, we had to start looking for houses in Cheadle area and a new location for my office(I run a small business), everything changed over night! Was it worth it? Fast forward to today and we are 100% happy where we are! My son has settled really well at LBHS and absolutely loves the school. Personally as a mother I can't praise LBHS enough, its made a massive difference in my son's confidence levels, their curriculum is in full gear. The parents are all amazing, we have regular coffee mornings and even have had a kindergarten night out! We have also moved to Wilmslow and what a lovely place to live!, we've made great friends through school and locally. My daughter is now 3 and she goes to Kids Allowed in Cheadle, again a great nursery and thanks mumsnetter's for the recommendation. She will be starting full time nursery (preschool) in LBHS in Sep 14. I can't wait! I have moved my office to Cheadle Royal Business Park and happy that it's all near by!. Thanks to all who helped!