Advice needed on primary schools in Altrincham/Hale/Timperley area

[yulia2681]

Hello,

We are a family of four (with two children aged 4.11 and 1.5), relocating from Moscow to Altrincham/Hale/Timperley area between June and August 2014.

We have to secure a place in a primary school for our elder son (born in January 2009). As we will not have any address prior to our arrival (and anyway the registration process for schools will be finished in January), there is no way we can get him into a free school as they all seem to be over subscribed and very strict about their catchment areas. According to what I could read here all independent schools (been looking at hale prep, alt prep, st ambrose prep and forest prep) in the area are also over subscribed.

Can anyone offer any advice on what we could do in this situation? We already feel desperate as it looks like we will not be able to get a place in any school free or independent for our son. He will turn 5 in January and we really need to get a place for him (will it be in Year 1?) We would so much appreciate any advice/personal experiences from parents living in the area.

Thanks.

Hi Yulia,

You are correct, your Son will be due to start in year one. Although it is incredibly stressful securing a place at a school of your choice, it is a legal requirement for a child to attend school at five years old. Therefore, the local authority (Trafford) should be obliged in assisting you to find a place for you Son at short notice. People always change their minds about school places, and they do become available, so don't give up hope. You seem like you have done plenty of research and there are a plethora of outstanding primary schools in Altrincham, Timperley and Sale. Good luck with your move, hope all goes well.

Juanita

If you are intending to send your son to school immediately upon your arrival in June 2014 - which I believe you will have to do because he will already by 5 - he will go into Reception, not Year 1. The school year here is from September to the end of July - so if you get here before the end of July, he will just catch the end of Reception. If you arrive later than the end of July, the summer holidays will have started and he won't start school until the start of September, at which point he would go into Year 1. I hope that makes sense.

I took the original message as they would want the child to be enrolled at the start of the new academic year, but that was my take on it as they don't specifically mention that. It's not very often a child would join a new just before it closed for the summer holidays.

*school

Thanks everybody for this information. We would like our son to start school in September 2014. It looks like we have no choice but to find an independent school as we cannot even register him for a free school on Trafford Council website (they require a local address and we only have our address in Moscow for the moment).

If you follow the website links to the admissions section, there is a section within the guidance booklet which sets out what happens when you move into the Trafford area after the deadlline for school place applications. Its not correct that you have no option but to look for an independent school (although practically speaking, it might be best to go down this route particularly in the short term) but Trafford will process your application, even if its received after the deadline. You are very unlikely to get your first choice/s of schools, you'll probably be given a place at whichever school has a free place and / or go on a waiting list.

Hello HaleMumto3, thanks very much for your suggestion. I will try to register my son on the council website. As you said we are very likely to be given a place in a 'bad' school so choosing an independent school will probably be a better solution.

FWIW I don't think there are any 'bad' schools, and at least you'd be on a waiting list. Good luck with whatever you decide!

I've just come across this thread as we are considering a move "up north" and are looking at the Hale area. I wanted to post as I don't think the situation is as bad as you think it is! I would suggest phoning the schools admissions team at Trafford - I have spoken to them a couple of times and they are incredibly helpful. They told me that they would offer a place at a Trafford school, although they can't guarantee it will be your preferred school, and that they aim to offer a place within 2 miles for a child under 8 or 3 miles if over 8. So don't despair; if you'd prefer a state school over independent, there is a chance! They also told me that the process (for applying for a school place from September for every school year except Reception) starts at the end of June/start of July, by which time you will have an address by the sounds of it? So you apply end of June; they respond in July with an offer; you can wait and see whether anything else comes up in September when term starts and can appeal if you want a different school. But speak to them - they will be able to tell you all this with far more authority than me!

Stay positive and talk to admissions lots. The area is also relatively transient so places do come up as people move areas.