Trafford schools, are they over subscribed?

[CharlieHarley]

We are relocating to Manchester - probably the Trafford area. When we initially looked, we liked Hale - love the villagey vibe and relaxed pace. Also like Didsbury.

We will be looking for good schools for our two little ones (7mths and 3 at the moment) - the bonus of having fantastic schools in Trafford is a major pull. Are the schools very over subscribed though? Is it difficult to get in without already having a sibling in the outstanding ones? We'd be looking at Stamford Park Primary as we love that area and some gorgeous houses around there. Anyone have any experience of this area and school?

Thanks!

[itsahen]

Trafford have fixed catchments and some are combined such as Stamford Park & Bollin. Bowden CofE is also excellent and expanding. Everyone I know who moved into that area for schools got the one they wanted. They are oversubscribed but it's not as silly as areas of London. The super selective grammars are v competitive but the high school are good too. Didsbury is similar but more urban and mixed. All the primaries are great (6) and two solid good high schools - one is RC

[CharlieHarley]

Great to know! That gives us confidence of making the move to somewhere like Hale.

[mandy214]

Yes But as someone else mentioned some schools are expanding (Bowdon C of E). Do your research though re high schools unless you want to move again before your DC are senior school age. You'll be well within catchment for the grammars around Stamford Park but the high schools (Wellington in particular has a notoriously small catchment - about 1.2 miles) so although it seems like a long way off, it's worth considering simply to avoid 2 x moving costs & stamp duty etc.

[ceeveebee]

Hi - I know this thread is a couple of months old but just wanted to post as we are also moving from London to Bowdon in a few weeks after months of planning - we have twins who start reception in September 2016 and we're hoping to get them in Bollin. Did you manage to get a house yet OP?

[CharlieHarley]

Hi ceeveebee! We have found a house to rent in the Stamford Park area - it's 0.2 miles from SP school so hoping we can get my daughter in there. Going to visit this school and also Bollin in December (we move end of this month) although we might be too far away for catchment. Have you settled in ok?

[ceeveebee]

Hi Charley. Sorry for delay, this didn't appear on my active threads for some reason
Yes we moved 2 weeks ago, DH only just started new job, I was lucky to get a transfer with current employer, but only working part time so currently looking for stuff to do on my days off. It's a bit odd losing the NCT/Mum friends network I'd built up over the past 4 years but sure will meet some mums at nursery/school. There's a good Facebook group too (sale, timperley, altrincham mums and dads social).
I've been told SP catchment is about 1/2 mile so you should be fine, Bollin was 1 mile last year. There is a nice park near you, we've been there a couple of times to feed the ducks and there's a good play area. Also loving hale, it's a great little village with lots of nice bars/cafés, think we'll be happy here!
Best of luck! If you fancy meeting up once you're here let me know!

[saverineni]

Apologies for hijacking the topic, I have requested the admin to remove my above message

[emle]

Hello - also sorry for jumping onto this post. We are starting to plan our move (back) to Manchester from London and will hopefully move to the Trafford area. We have one child already in reception and am slightly panicked after speaking to Trafford council as the waiting lists sound scarily long for most schools in the areas we are looking at. Has anyone done an in-year transfer?
Also, ceeveebee - I sent you a message as it'd be great to get some information from you re how you've found the move / how the planning went etc. Thanks!

[CharlieHarley]

Thanks for the responses, Ceeveebee, pleased to hear you've settled in nicely - I've sent you a PM.

[Eabhak]

Hey Guys
I know this is an older post and apologies for jumping in, we are also moving to the area in July, preverbly Hale, however, I wanted to see how everyone has settled. Our daughter is older she is 11 years next month and we are moving from a different country so anxiety levels are high, my husband currently works in Manchester and commutes to Dublin each weekend, hence the move. Would love any advice on how the areas are, my husbands colleagues have recommended Hale and Timperley and my husband currently stays in Sale during the week.