Withington Girls v Altrincham Girls

[TooMuchBloodyChoice]

I am a mum of a year 6 DD and currently looking around schools in our local area. My DD has already sat the exam for Alty girls however we have recently seen Withington and we were very impressed. They are both good performing schools with strong academics, but obviously Withington is fee paying. If anyone has experience and/or preference of either I’d love to hear it as we are absolutely torn between the two schools. TIA

Not sure about the pastoral care at Withington but it's non existent at Altrincham.
It's a real exam factory and there is a lot of pressure. My daughter passed but we didn't send her partly because of the pastoral care but also because I found the head incredibly arrogant and very cold.
It has excellent results but at what cost?

I'm a parent with a child at Alty Girls. She loves it.
troppibambini what's made you think the pastoral care is non-existent? That's quite a strong statement from someone who doesn't have a child at the school.
OP there's so much on offer, in and out of the classroom. I don't know enough about Withington to make any judgements on the school, but can't imagine there's huge amounts of added value for the fees, compared to AGGS.

I have many friends with children at the school and also family members.
I know of girls that have been withdrawn because of severe bullying.
Obviously no school is perfect but AGGS does seem particularly brutal.

Parents withdrawing their girls? I haven't heard of this at all, and as a parent, I'd really like to know more. Was this in recent years? How many girls? Gosh. There are many parents sending younger girls to the school who have older siblings there, and who must know what it's like. You say that you entered your own daughter in the exam, though, Troppibambini? I'm very surprised, if you knew it to be particularly brutal.
Good luck with your choice OP. I can't speak for other parents, but I have a happy daughter at the school. All-girls (or all-boys) environments can be intense & don't suit all young people, but if you're considering Withington, then I guess you are on board with the pros & cons of single-sex schooling.
I hope there are other parents of girls at either/both schools who can share their experiences.

Yes I entered her because at the time the exam was for Sale and AGGS. I liked Sale and wanted to keep her options open if she didn't get into our first choice.
It's was also the first exam so it was partly for exam practice.
I'm guessing girls being withdrawn because of bullying isn't really something they would shout about but I know if two cases personally.

I'm glad your daughter is happy, at the end of the day that's the most important thing.

Did your daughter pass @troppibambini?

I have 2 DDs - one already at AGGS and one who will start next Sept. My DD is very happy there and I have certainly never heard of girls being withdrawn due to bullying. When my older DD started, there was a general impression given by the school that any girl who attended there was extremely lucky, and as such, any queries or attempts to engage with the staff were brushed away as not really important - the school knew what it was doing and so why would they need input from parents?! It feels less arrogant now, but I think its a slow change. They do offer a whole range of opportunities and the results are outstanding - I think if you're voted as the best state school in the country, it's probably difficult to be humble about it.

I also know girls who go to Withington - all happy there too. I agree it is an amazing school. I think there is more willingness to engage with parents (although that's just a perception, no personal experience), but that may be because you're paying for it! I think class sizes are generally slightly smaller, its a much smaller cohort but both schools are highly academic, single sex so very little to choose between them. One thing I did notice however from visiting the schools is that Withington and MHSG have a really strong alumni presence - lots reunions, girls coming back to give careers talks. I get the impression (and again its only my impression) that the smaller cohort means that it feels more of a community that goes beyond school.

I would consider the distance to school, whether you have a sporty girl (think AGGS is better for sport), and how the cost would impact on your family (do you have other children who might follow her)? You're looking at £100k even without any fee increases or extras for 7 years so its a big financial commitment if you have the choice of a "free" education locally too.

Good luck with your decision.

She did Africa. She's at the other girls grammar.
That's interesting what you say my dd is year 10 so it's good to hear that things have changed.

Thank you Troppibambini. I hope your daughter's also happy. Interestingly, my eldest daughter was at the other girls' grammar, and it's the reason why my youngest girl is at AGGS! She's my only child not to have gone to a catholic school, so was quite nervous about it, but I wasn't prepared to send her to the other school. My eldest was bullied there to the extent that she wasn't eating and dropped to a very low weight. The school were v poor in dealing with it & it went on for a long time. She ended up running out of the school on one occasion & a passer-by spotted her crying in JL park & informed the school 😮. I guess much depends on the cohort of particular years.

@Bucolicky oh god your poor daughter!
I don't think any school is perfect certainly not my dds while on the whole we've been happy I do think sometimes it needs to drag itself out of the 1940's.
It's as you say it's a bit of a lottery and all you can do is what you think is best.

Having attended Withington on a full scholarship in the last millennium, nothing would force me to send my DDs there. Bullying was rife - girl on girl, staff on girl (probably staff on staff too). Friends who went to Sale or Altrincham did equally as well and came out far better adjusted. My youngest cousin and bridesmaid went to AGGS and has done brilliantly.

I would stick to the state school and save the money unless you really want your DD mixing with some seriously loaded arrogant little madams. I went to an old girls thing at Withington last summer and whilst they bragged and boasted about all their marvellous facilities, I pointed out that the state school in which I worked achieved comparable results at GCSE, there are boys there too and it's free. At least they stopped asking me for donations to fund their harp ensemble...

Africa2go the alumni coming back to "inspire" the girls at WGS are hand-picked. Only top lawyers, medics or businesswomen are invited. They aren't interested in anyone in academia or who prioritised their family over their own career (or are a humble classroom teacher). I wonder if it's related to how much they bung the place on a regular basis?

Hi everyone.. my daughter has got offer in WGS.. please share Ur experiences. As it would be really helpful in deciding.
Thanks

@Sabshe read my comments above. Well done to your DD but I had a torrid time there back in the day. Luckily I am in a different part of the country now, and my DDs are adults, so I never had the issue of whether to send them to WGS. My DDs attended a mixed state grammar school and I am so much more impressed by their education than mine.

As far as WGS is concerned, I am probably an embarrassment as I am a teacher rather than working in a well-paid profession. I have never been asked back; the only thing they have asked for is money and I will not give them a penny. If you can afford it and it fits with your views, go for it. Personally I think mixed schools are so much more healthy and as such, would avoid like the plague.

@Malbecfan thanks for Ur reply dear, but it's such a difficult decision to take with my DD not being able to make it to state grammar school and nearby schools are the ones that require improvement with the ppl saying oh u are the luckiest for getting into WGS as they academically select.. so just drowning in the sea of thoughs.. 😭

Well if the local state schools are not great, you don't mind the snooty attitudes and you can afford the fees, go for it. I personally detest single sex schools and both my DDs have gone on to study science at university, so being scientists in a mixed school has done them no harm, but perhaps you feel differently.

This has been a really useful post. We were considering WGS on the basis of advice of a teacher friend at CH who said it would suit our DD but this has really put me off.

Just to add some contrast to PPs, I went to Withington on a bursary this millennium and loved it. I had excellent friends, amazing teachers, and a well balanced extra curricular life. I have gone on to be a teacher too and all staff from there I have seen since have been delighted to hear that. I don't think the teachers at all look down on people who choose to be teachers but also why would they need to invite a teacher back to tell the students what being a teacher was like when they already have a school full of them? I think there will be student who don't enjoy Withington but that's the same of all schools. I am still in the area and know of kids who have moved from MHSG to AGGS, kings to AESG, Withington to Cheadle etc etc, so nowhere's perfect for everyone. I'm sure you're all looking to do what's best for your daughter so please don't be put off by one posters experiences of the school 20 years ago.