WA 15 Grammar Schools

[Gingabriel]

I am still looking for places to settle in Greater Manchester as my husband will try to find jobs in Manchester. I am thinking where exactly I should rent a house. I know Altrincham is nice but we might not be able to afford the rent. Is Sale or Timperley a good alternative? I am targeting St Ambrose or Sale Grammar School for Boys...

Sale and Timperley are very nice. Sale has lots of parks and good areas. Both areas qualify for Sale Grammar, Alty boys and St Ambrose. Although there are feeder schools for St Ambrose in Altrincham, Hale

We are Catholic so we are targeting St Ambrose in Hale. Shall I live closer to the school in Hale? Or, we should enroll our child to the St Ambrose feeder in Hale and we live either in Sale or Timperley. Which plan is better? Is Hale or Sale nicer to live? As we are new in the UK, we won't have a car to start with and depend on the public transport in the beginning.

Not in your area (a d you may already have researched this), but in England, it is not just a question of enrolling your DC in whichever state school you want - schools have a planned admission number and if a year group is full, the child will not be admitted, but placed on a waiting list / continuing interest list. If you are looking for places in Reception, year 1 or year 2, there is a limit of 30 in a class, except in a few defined circumstances.

Another thing to consider is, where will your DC go, if they don't qualify for a grammar school? You may want to add and with the probability of getting into an acceptable academically non-selective school to your quest for places to live.

Hale is definitely nicer but very expensive and you would get more house for your money in Timperley and Sale. If you are catholic, I would look at Hale, Hale Barnes, Altrincham and Timperley as these would give you Blessed Thomas Holford in Altrincham as aback up to St Ambrose.Not sure how old your DS is but entrance exams for St Ambrose are usually around 3rd Saturday in September

You don't need to live close to Hale/Altrincham for St Ambrose. It's not the proximity to school that counts, but whether your son is RC and your postcode is in the area of one of the nominated deaneries, which stretch as far as Flixton, Chorlton and Moss Side. This covers a massive area. I have a son there (we live in Manchester) and there are boys in his class from Urmston, Warrington, Sale, Manchester City Centre and Irlam. I think most of the boys are not from Hale/Altrincham area, but from much further afield. There are loads of school buses from different areas, and the school's also accessible by tram or train to Altrincham from Manchester and beyond.