Nottingham High School or Manchester Grammar School or Royal Grammar School Newcastle or King Edward's School Birmingham

I can't imagine any of those schools would be "wrong" or devastating to his future plans. Doctors come from a broad range of schools - even crappy comps.

Perhaps you should look at uni destinations and any indication of specific activities for potential medics/vets in sixth form.

No one is going to have decent knowledge of all 4. You'd be better off looking at what life would be like for you all living close to each of them. I'm sure your dc will do well at any of the four. The rest of you still need to live in the area, so that's more important surely?

I can only speak of KE schools in Birmingham so the Edgbaston one has a very good reputation but also good transport links if you were hoping to live in the immediate area or further away.

I hope you're both happy with whichever choice you make.

Absolutely- but the OP already has offers at 4 schools and at this stage would be a late applicant even for an independent school and presumably reliant on places being turned down. Definitely a late applicant for state schools.

Bird(s) in the hand and all that.

@MarchingFrogs I'm sure there will be excellent schools in Liverpool!

But not great for getting to school in Birmingham, Nottingham, Newcastle or even Manchester every day.

I believe Liverpool has a thriving Chinese community. And it's a fabulous city. Maybe look at that..

I live in Nottingham, it's ok but the city centre has got quite run down over the last few years. The council has also gone bankrupt so services are being cut to the bone.

Not sure if I missed this, which specific KE school in Birmingham? Some rank higher than others

Being in top 1% is all very well but may suggest the school is not as academically selective across the year and your child would potentially not be amongst a cohort who might challenge him. Not if sure your budget reaches the nicer parts of Nottingham. www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/86343057#/?channel=RES_BUY Again would suggest you rent initially to determine best area for your family, access to public transport etc

As other posters have said, this should be about where you can build the best life for yourself and your son. All the schools you have mentioned will give him and excellent start in life.

Coming from HK, perhaps you would be happier in a bigger city such as Manchester or Birmingham and by virtue of their size, they're more likely to have an expat community, if that's what is important to you.

Do you have any friend or family links or any of the cities that you have mentioned?

Regarding Nottingham, were quite happy here. We chose it 7 years ago because it's very central. It's pretty equidistant to ours friends and family, has excellent transport links so you easily get to London for example and is within short reach or several major airports.

The city itself is fairly small and experiences the same high street challenges affecting much of the UK. But it does have decent shopping and a good and improving restaurant scene.

Mapperley Park (where I live) and The Park are two nice neighbourhood in or just outside the city centre, where you will find large period houses on tree lined roads. Mapperley Park in particular is walkable to city centre and also the high school. Whilst both neighbourhoods are expensive for Nottingham, you will find them very good value compared to many other cities.

There is also West Bridgeford, south of the city which is a wonderful place it live, again, lovely homes, tree lined streets and a great small town feel just a stones throw from the city. Though it is more expensive to buy into and much less convenient for the the High School.

I can't comment on which school is 'best' because it often depends on the pupil, but Manchester Grammar School is definitely prestigious.

I live in Altrincham at the end of the tram and we have a decent sized HK population now. You would possibly know better than me. I'm pretty sure that there are buses to MGS because quite a lot of boys locally go there. Plus it is a nice place to live.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/143817587#/?channel=RES_BUY

I wouldn't rule out Newcastle as suggested by @Clearinguptheclutter. There are properties in Jesmond within your budget (300-400k, if I remember correctly from your earlier thread). This could be a great location for you as RGS is within walking distance. So it could be a nicer lifestyle for your son than commuting across Birmingham like we were discussing before. Bigger isn't always better.

Regarding weather/climate, Manchester is the worst place in my opinion from your list as it gets the most rain. I think your mother will probably find it cold whether you move to Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham or Newcastle. It can be noticeably milder in London, and in the last few years London/SE England have had some heatwaves which haven't affected the North as badly - it's rarely been above 30°C where I live (which I think is a good thing).

You said on your other thread that you are coming to the UK to visit Birmingham. Can you visit the other cities and schools? I think that'll really help your decision.

My two cents would be to look at 1) where you aim to live 2) which size of a school might fit your DS, ie big or smaller 3) co-ed or not.

Since you are moving from abroad, you need time to adjust. Finding a community of Hong Kong people might help you settle down more quickly. I heard that Manchester and Brum have a lot of Hong Kong people. And they are bigger cities. School wise all these names are very reputable. If your DS is outgoing then perhaps a bigger school would not be as problematic. If he is introverted then perhaps the smaller KES. Ultimately it is not about which school is 'good'. This mentality is the wrong way to select schools. It is about the fit for your child. Thus I would ask around about culture and how the school is operated and then match up with your DS's personality.

I read and commented on your other thread

Again, nobody will have experience of all four schools as they are all miles away from each other. They’re all good schools I think you need to focus on which city is best for you as a HK family. With that in mind I’d rule out Nottingham and Newcastle. Birmingham and Manchester in particular have thriving HK communities where you’ll easily make HK friends (if that is important to you).

re weather it’s not that much different between all of them. Newcastle will be cooler but not significantly so.