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!

i can only comment, HKers are also chinese and some also have similar characteristics and personality like mainland chinese......

indeed, I stayed in HK for an extended time back in the 1980s and travelled across land to Beijing, it was very different and enlightening

hope you settle well here and enjoy life in the uk

Another voice here recommending in the strongest terms that you rent for at least six months before buying a property. We moved to Solihull ten years ago and in our case were only coming from London. We would absolutely have made a very expensive mistake if we had not rented for the first twelve months.

Both schools mentioned are fee-paying independent schools.

@Lalagu article in Sunday Times today

What the UK’s 184,000 new Hongkongers really think about life here

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/96a4ecc4-65a7-4fb5-b393-45728f07a417?shareToken=d581120fe949e4e383a018e9d14bc335

thanks!
another mummy shared it last two days

Ahh sorry I didn’t spot that read it today and thought of you.

Hi, i will visit SK soon....how about Hazel Grove?
i checked Heaton Cheadle and Davenport are nice and 300-400K is available to locate semi

Kings Heath and Mosley are both nice

Hazel grove is perfectly ok, not as nice as other places you mention but more affordable

BUT its a trek to MGS from there. I’m not aware of a school bus though there is one that goes from Bramhal/Cheadle/heatons

yes my husband will drive to school as seem hazel grove is quite convenient for living and property is more affordable

even in cheadle not everywhere can reach school bus or public bus.....

I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you this but committing to your husband driving, twice, for seven years, is a huge ask. At rush jour that journey could take an hour (one way). From hazel grove the best private school option is Stockport grammar, however assume you didn’t apply there?

hazel grove is one of my choice and i know traffic congestion is an issue from stockport to city side

i didnt apply for stockport grammar school since it rejected to accept overseas application and ranked 100+ (so even got offer, not our choice)

I would think very carefully about any permanent location that requires you to drive your son to school back and forth daily for 7 years. It is a huge commitment and will make getting work much more difficult.

yes if can locate a place that has convenient transport to school is also the key factor
but u know all out of our controls....we just try our best

Have you accepted MGS now @Lalagu ?

yes i accepted KES and MGS

yes if can locate a place that has convenient transport to school is also the key factor but u know all out of our controls....we just try our best
Which is why you should rent initially to judge ease of journeys and access by school bus/public transport from areas better. Most secondary pupils travel independently and city driving is both time consuming and expensive. What of the Nottingham and Newcastle schools, have you declined their offers?

my husband will flight to MAN in coming week to take a look for a month
yes we dont pay for acceptance deposit of the rest so......

Presumably you'll need to turn down one of them by Easter or you'll end up paying double fees for the first term? Also, bear in mind that there are people on the KES and MGS waiting lists anxiously hoping for places, so the sooner you can release one, the better.

You need to formally decline the places so they get reoffered, not just assume they have lapsed.

Op you really need to tread carefully on the school places.

First, you really should expressly decline the places you don’t want, it would be considered rude not to and frustrating for the admissions teams. A short email is fine - you can basically say grateful for your kind consideration and offer, have chosen to accept another school instead.

Second you should read carefully the offer letters terms and conditions you will have got from the two you’ve accepted. You’re not meant to accept two places, you’re meant to accept one. I’ve seen terms at other schools where by accepting an offer you’re confirming that you have not, and you will not, accept a place elsewhere. The last thing you want is the risk of both places being withdrawn and frankly you may well be unique in your particular circumstances so may be identifiable to any admissions person at those two schools who might read this thread.

Even absent that typically you have to give a term’s notice to withdraw. So this would normally mean advise prior to start of summer terms, and if you don’t you’d have to pay the autumn term fees. So you cannot sit on this until the summer without significant extra costs.

if dont pay the acceptance deposit before end of Feb, most offers will be lapsed automatically

Be careful OP. You can’t accept multiple places. I suspect you and your son are very identifiable from your threads.