Stockport Grammar or Alderley Edge for Girls

[nv22]

hi all, we are moving to Manchester from Canada (love the look of wilmslow/Alderley, woodford, bramhall area) and we have visited both Alderley Edge school for girls and Stockport grammar this week. We have 2 girls, Y4 and Y2...looking for your personal experiences and advice as the British system is very new to us and I am clueless in how to navigate through this all.

Alderley edge currently has vacancies (no need for formal assessment) and we have done a trial day with them, our girls seemed to enjoyed it. their current class size is under 10 and I think it's fantastic especially knowing my girls will have to play catch up to the new curriculum and environment. my older daughter is a bit more reserved, lacks confidence and definitely need support in math so she can gain more confidence in herself. She is an amazing artist, and is very much into drama. She turns into another person as soon as she's on stage performing school plays etc. Younger daughter is bright and is a fast learner, no issues with her learning and social behavior except she might feel unchallenged/lazy sometimes. they have never been in a single sex school before and neither have I, I'm not sure how school life would look like if it'll be different at all.

SGS's school tour was wonderful, beautiful grounds and of course comes with all the bells and whistles. current class size is around 17-21, larger as the kids get older, will need to go through an assessment day to be offered a spot. probably less one-on-one support from the teacher if the their learning schedule is faster paced and kids are already at a higher level?

my dilemma: we hope to live closer to the school once we have decided, are both schools well-rounded and caring or one has different strengths than the other? Also, is one a better choice than the other because it preps the kids better to apply for other secondary schools if we decide to leave at Y7?

We are pressed for time as the girls are out of school in Canada and are physically in the UK while I'm school searching. Any advice/experiences will be appreciated. I'm so torn between the two schools :)

Stockport Grammar the more academic of the two. I've known bright girls leave AESG as they aren't being stretched enough.

AE has reputation of being open to anyone as long as you can pay the fees.. not that academic.
SGS great reputation for everything

SGS all move up to high school I think ?! AE defo reputation for only rich girls

Why not look at Prep schools too and give yourselves more choices after Y6?

Lady Barn House School in Cheadle, Pownall in Wilmslow, Terra Nova in Holmes Chapel, Greenbank in Cheadle Hulme, wildcard Stella Maris in the Heatons (tiny classes, v lovely, good value)

@Yourheartwillleadyouhome
What are the differences between prep school and these type of independent schools? Does prep school prepare you to do more exams to apply for other secondary schools so you'll have more options by year 6?

Prep schools go to Y6 (although Terra Nova in the list above goes to Y8) and prepare the children for senior school exams so you have a wide choice from Y7-13 (Terra Nova prepare mostly for boarding schools like Sedburgh and Shrewsbury if the children stay till Y8)

Alderley Edge and SGS are schools that go to Y13 so although you can move for Y7 most people don't. I agree that AE is posh but some very academic girls do extremely well there. SGS has a horrible uniform but it's good! The traffic nearby made me discount it though.

I disagree with most of the previous posters.
AESG has fabulous pastoral support. They supported my eldest to Oxford. A friend's daughter moved from Kings to sixth form at AESG and went to Cambridge.
Girls from a wide range of backgrounds and ethnicities.
It was definitely the right choice for us.

@Yourheartwillleadyouhome
ha! I agree on the uniform at SGS, definitely not as cute as the AESG one with their little hats. During the trial day yesterday, my younger daughter was put into a class of 6 children with a fabulous teacher with such great energy. I felt so relieved and was surprised how my daughter got along so well with her. Huge point added to AESG in that regard. Going to SGS tomorrow for assessment, will test drive the traffic situation and see if we even get an offer in the end.

My kids (one of each gender) go to a co-Ed prep very close to AESG. I love their school but then I would! Class sizes are c15-18. In my opinion any smaller than 12 is too small from a social and wider developmental perspective. I know my DD’s equivalent year at AESG had just four girls in it (one of whom moved to my kids’ school/class, as there were more girls…).

I would also be sceptical about the financial sustainability of very small class sizes. They can amalgamate years when that happens to save costs.

Anyway, the area is ripe with great independent schools (both prep and all-through) so if I were you I’d go with your instincts, you’re unlikely to get a bad experience. There’s always plenty of movement between the prep schools in the area so you can always move later if it doesn’t work out.

I’m considering both SGS and CHS for my two after prep.