Manchester Grammar School or King Edward's School Birmingham

[Lalagu]

My kid has received offers from both schools for Year 7 in the upcoming year. I am wondering which school he should choose. Do you have any insightful ideas? Thanks!

My dd went to KE girls school and we lived in Northfield (not the nice bit - but it was fine!). The nicer parts are around the station and on border of Bournville/Northfield. You get good value for money in Northfield though and you've got both train and bus options for getting to school (as well as easy access both ways into the city). Other areas like Harborne and Kings Heath don't have the train and Solihull is much further from KES.

you mean Bunbury Road? right?

Can't comment on Manchester

have friends in Solihull, who have kids in KES.

1. KES follows IB, not sure if they do A levels as option

It's a fairly long bus ride from Solicitors to get to KES or you have to take the train and walk and change etc. Either way, it's a long journey, 1 hour +, one way

So, if you are opting for KES, consider housing closer to the school

Which King Edward's school do you mean in Birmingham ? The fee paying one ? As there are also King Edward's Grammar schools - possibly 5 different schools around Birmingham .

Agree with other posters that Northfield / Longbridge areas in the main aren't the best - although appreciate you are working with a budget .

She means King Edward's School. The fee paying one. It's the only one with that actual name.

My family comes from Manchester and I live in Birmingham.

I think Birmingham is a good place to live because it is so central in the UK. There is a large community of East Asian people around Northfield, but I think they may be Vietnamese. KES has a green leafy setting, though I don't know a lot about the school. I wouldn't personally look at commuting from Solihull. (Roads v congested in rush hour.) There are lovely houses in parts of Edgbaston and Moseley nearby. Bournville is also very sought after.

I have a feeling of south Birmingham being more manageable than Manchester, though it may simply be that I've been here longer.

MGS used to have a rather scary reputation when I was young. Academically great but ferocious, if that make sense.

There are very frequent buses out along the A38 / Bristol Rd / Bristol Rd Sth which make Selly Oak, Northfield, Longbridge and in to Rednal or Rubery very easy.
Also, anywhere along the cross City Train line (lots of pupils use the train and the station at the University then walk across campus).

As others have said, Northfield High Street is nothing to write home about so people tend to lump the whole area together as being a bit 'meh' but it varies hugely road by road.

Selly Oak to the North of the Bristol Road, behind Northfield Manor Park is nice, but to the South, and closer to the University be wary of living in the part where all the student accommodation is.

I can't speak for Manchester, but in Birmingham a lot of the areas are really mixed. Some houses in Kings North are lovely. Some are okay, some areas of KN come under some of the worst social housing estates but other areas have some beautiful £million+ houses. So it is difficult to say a whole area is good or bad.

Your budget is tight for a family needing 3 useable bedrooms.
It seems an unusual mix to be wanting to pay private school fees when your budget is what it is.

It’s common in Asian families to prioritise school fees over housing.

@Lalagu there isn’t a lot in it so to speaking between KES and Solihull School. I’d say KES is more academic and Solihull is an academic school, but there is more of an all round focus. Less tiger parenting! Good luck. But deffo don’t commute from Solihull!

Edgbaston (on the right side of Hagley Road not the wrong side) Bearwood, Moseley, Kings Heath etc are good places. Or further up past Sally Oak then it’s straight down Bristol Road. You could look around Five Ways and he can then jump on the train to University and walk down. Still not the nicest area.

You're not going to get anything in Edgbaston or Moseley (in the parts you'd want to live) for OP's budget though.

There is a large Chinese Methodist congregation who meet in Northfield (some local, some traveling from different parts of the City, and also way outside the City. I am aware they have been welcoming a lot of families moving to Birmingham from Hong Kong.

No clue about MGS but KES is very well regarded in Birmingham and further afield and would be an excellent choice. Opportunities to mix with girls at the sister school too if that is important to you.

There are plenty of areas with decent housing within your budget in walking distance of KES. Selly Oak as a number of others have suggested, Selly Park borders around Umberslade Road/Warwards Lane, or towards Bournville.

The Grammar schools operate under catchment areas these days. It has to be KES if they are coming from Hong Kong!

Heaton Moor, Heaton Chapel, Heaton Mersey
Cheadle
Gatley
Didsbury
Urmston*
Flixton*
Sale*
Hazel Grove
Bramhall
Marple
Romiley

*These locations are in Trafford which has seen one of the highest levels of people arriving from Hong Kong. Thriving community

Not:
Wythenshawe
Tameside
Edgeley
Adswood

Maybe (if you like ‘edgey’ areas):
Stretford
Chorlton
Levenshulme

Manchester and surroundings (especially south) has a strong Hong Kong expat community, and there are lots of boys at MGS with that heritage. It's also a great place to live, with great transport links, a bustling city and lovely surrounding countryside. Much nice than Birmingham IMO!

thanks! your suggestion is handy.
as we dedicate more resources on education and thus limited our budget on housing; in addition, we are newbie and hard to find a good job here, so need to assign extra for livelihood

right side of Hagley Road, you mean close to Morrisons and Marriott hotel? thanks!

appreciate

yup my budget is not abundant and thus locating a place is tough

I don't know anything about MGS or Manchester but I know KE is a very good school. They get excellent results. You could probably live on the outskirts of Birmingham. There is a diverse population in Birmingham and lots of things to do.

This might sound frivolous but if you are going back and forth then Cathay Pacific fly non stop manchester to Hong Kong, fights to/from Birmingham all have at least one stop.

flight is not key concern for our family as we will generally be back to HK once per year and both cities have international airports....14 or 18 hrs are indifferent to us

right side of Hagley Road, you mean close to Morrisons and Marriott hotel?
South side, anywhere up to 5 miles out is good to live. Don't know about transport, though.

I looked up NewName24's suggestion of the Chinese Methodist congregation; it is at B31 2PH. The railway station is B31 2QJ. The area around there is OK but I'd stay away from houses on the busy main roads. Here's one, for example, which is in your budget and your DS could catch the bus or the train. Pineview

very detailed.....and extremely useful!

With your budget, would you consider a flat rather than a house?
Personally I'd prefer a flat in a better area to a house in a less nice one.
There are lots of flats in edgbaston and harborne area if looking at KES

probably not
as i see there are many semi around 300-350k