Moving to Chester area...high school recommendations please!

[ramblingforest]

Hello,

I'm moving to the Chester area soon, and wondered if anyone had recommendations of high schools? My kids are almost high school age so it's one of my biggest considerations.

I've been looking at houses in catchment for Upton High and Tarporley High mainly, but also Christleton and Bishop Blue Coat. The house I like most is in catchment for Upton, but I'm just a bit nervous as the school is so big! I'm in two minds as I'm worried a big school will be overwhelming for the children (especially as we're totally new to the area), but I also think they might thrive around a huge diverse group of kids. Both my children are quite 'different' (not necessarily into 'typical' activities like football etc), so I want them to have the opportunity to pursue their interests that are a bit outside of the box if that makes sense.

Any and all thoughts appreciated!

Thanks

Christleton is very well thought of-my friend used to teach there. Has a swimming pool-or used to! I don’t know Upton, sorry. Tarporley has a huge catchment. Have you considered Bishop Hever in Malpas-quite a few of my daughter’s friends went there even though they lived nearer Chester. It’s an excellent school. Where are you planning on living?

Amazing, thank you! I viewed a place in Farndon over the weekend so that'd be in catchment for Bishop Heber. The house wasn't quite right but the village was lovely (although I'm a bit worried about not being able to make enough friends there!). I've also been looking at Upton and Tarvin

All of the schools you have mentioned are good.
My 2 went to Christleton which is a bit smaller than Upton (which was part of the reason we chose it). Some of their friends went to Upton.
Bishops Heber has a very good reputation.
Bishop Blue Coat seems to be on the up at the moment.

Sorry Heber-fat fingers! Tarvin is nice. Also check out Ashton Hayes not far from Tarvin-lovely village with great community feel. Has community shop and sought after village. One of my best friends lives there. It’s in the catchment for Helsby High School wheee my children went-nice ex grammar comprehensive and very friendly. Ashton is also walking distance from Mouldsworth station which although that train line isn’t the most reliable, has hourly trains from/to Manchester and Chester-great for teens. Very close to Delamere. Farndon is lovely-a little remote for me but very nice.

Oh brilliant I'll check Ashton Hayes out too. Thank you!!

@ramblingforest

Amazing, thank you! I viewed a place in Farndon over the weekend so that'd be in catchment for Bishop Heber. The house wasn't quite right but the village was lovely (although I'm a bit worried about not being able to make enough friends there!). I've also been looking at Upton and Tarvin

I used to live in Holt (just across the river). I thought it was a lovely village and really enjoyed living there for the few years that I did. I still go back to get my hair done there.... I would say that for a family with teenagers it is quite remote and I imagine you'll spend a lot of time being a "taxi". If that doesn't bother you then it could work. There are always local groups to join (if you're into that type of thing) so try and socialise. Just be wary that the roads are very popular with cycling groups (30+ in one group sometimes) so the journey to Chester can take unexpectedly longer at times.

Oh that's really helpful, thank you! I drove through Holt on the weekend and it looks lovely. I'm not too worried about being a taxi in the teenage years but I probably need to put a bit more thought into that! Do you mind me asking where you live now and how it compares to being in Holt?

Aw thank you, it's good to hear that they're all good! I've heard similar about Bishop Bluecoat being on the up. It becomes a bit of a minefield trying to choose one that's 'best', so I think it's good to remember that there's plenty of good in most schools 😊

Just be aware Holt is in Wales OP, different stamp duty in case you didn’t know and I don’t know about school catchment?

DD is in year 5 now so we are going through all this. Happy to help. I'm on the other side of the city tho, so Bishops Blue Coat, Queens Park High school and Catholic High are our usual choices from here.

Upton is very big, had a bit of a reputation for bullying. Bishops is thought of as nice school, good pastorally. Christleton has a v good reputation but you'd need to be in catchment. If you were looking over the other side of the river queen park is v v small, doing well now after having had a bad reputation. People see its size as good or bad... my DD liked it.

Also depending what you mean by "different" there is a bus to west Kirby Grammar and Caldy grammar from Upton if Grammar is an option.

@ramblingforest

Oh that's really helpful, thank you! I drove through Holt on the weekend and it looks lovely. I'm not too worried about being a taxi in the teenage years but I probably need to put a bit more thought into that! Do you mind me asking where you live now and how it compares to being in Holt?

Yes Holt is in Wales and I assumed since you’re talking schools in Chester that you were wanting to stay in England. Unfortunately I can’t offer any perspective on the English schools. Just wanted to offer a perspective of living very close to Farndon as the 2 blend into one another and only separated by the old bridge. It can flood a lot on the fields there but not to the villages themselves as they are raised up quite high. You’ll likely find that the closest amenities to you would be in Wales (wrexham) like supermarkets and petrol stations etc. It is a very friendly village but quite remote for teens.