Trafford or Chester for schools?

[Cartrucktractor]

Please help! We live and work in the north west, but our local secondary is a bit rubbish and want to look ahead for schools (eldest is in y1).

We're looking between a move to Trafford (Altrincham,.Timperly) or down to east Chester. Jobs are partly WFH so commute isnt too much of a consideration, the move is mainly about schooling (and don't want to be completely out in the countryside)

Does anyone have thoughts on either? I don't know much about the grammar school system, though it looks like a bit of a headache depending on your child. Thanks!

I’m in the middle of the 11 plus in Trafford now. Honestly, it’s brutal. Think carefully before committing to that whole system

I'm also in Trafford, Wellington is an excellent secondary school. As are the grammars

Problem with Wellington is the catchment has become absolutely minuscule in the last couple of years

That's because all the schools are full. Even the primaries are struggling.
Maybe someone from Chester might give you a more positive idea.

Absolutely. That’s why I’m saying don’t go into it lightly. Competition for the most academic schools has become absolutely fierce in Trafford

Also mid Trafford 11 plus - for the second time
We bought our house 12 years ago a few hundred metres from a primary school and less than a mile from a secondary school in Trafford. It turns out we are too far from either!
if you buy in Trafford don’t just ask about catchment areas on the map. Check furthest distance places were offered to in recent years as it is often well within catchment area it seems (different rules for the grammar schools)
But Trafford is a lovely place to live.

I’m looking at secondaries in Chester in the next year or so and I can’t say any are particularly appealing to me at the moment!

The Chester International School is supposed to be good.

There are lots of schools in the areas around Chester/Northwich that are good - Helsby, Weaverham, Tarporley, St Nicks, Hartford

Thanks that's good to know- when you say brutal, do you mean like really tough on the kids? It's hard to know whether to get involved, as my kids are too young to tell whether they might be academic in that way.

Does the grammar school system necessarily mean the other schools in the area are less ambitious, because the grammars have taken the top achievers? This is my fear I guess (and I suppose the argument against the grammar system!)

I hear good things about Christleton, though the catchment there is perilously small too...

Thank you. For my own post-lockdown sanity, I'm kind of ready to move back into a more urban area (if Chester can be considered that...) so am discounting frodsham/Tarpoley type areas, even though I hear the schools are good.

I think the number of tutoring places there are round here shows how fierce the competition is.

Look at Upton High School, Bishops Blue Coat (sp?) and Christleton. Don't really know BBC, but the other 2 are good.

I have one at a grammar and one at a high school, both sat the 11+ and if I really wish they hadn't had to, but that's the system we were in (obviously they didn't have to, but all their friends were so they wanted to). It's really tough on a 10 year old to do all the work, and then not pass :(
Friends are all split up and I do think it has really knocked my youngest's confidence in exams.

In my opinion both schools are excellent and at the high school the children are streamed for the top sets. There are still plenty of clever children there! And at the grammar there are kids who are getting 4/ 5s in gcses and were maybe over tutored to get in...

The main difference is that the behaviour in the high school seems to be a little more disruptive, but that all settles down quite quickly

I have to be careful as I’m also a teacher and I don’t want anything I say to be outing. Trafford rightly has an excellent reputation for schools but you are right in thinking that it is mostly justified by a handful of schools and yes, there are others that are poor. It’s also a large borough so varies greatly but largely speaking, the most academic schools are concentrated in Altrincham. The primaries are mostly excellent and you can’t really go wrong there. If you can manage to get into one of the smaller ones then if you do want your child to take the 11+ they do target those places and teach accordingly. As your child gets older, you’ll have a clearer picture of what’s appropriate for them. If that does turn out to be an academic route then yes, I’m afraid it is brutal. Particularly since the huge influx from Hong Kong that the area has experienced over the last couple of years, competition to get into the grammars has become insane. The tests have been altered to try and mitigate this a little but what it means in reality is that they are extremely challenging tests now and tuition at some level is becoming necessary. That doesn’t necessarily mean paying for a tutor though the most successful tutors do have a 2 year waiting list but it can mean having to devote time yourself to do extra at home, it can mean having to devote a number of Saturdays to mock exams or in some schools’ cases, it can mean your child being put in an ‘11+ class l’ in year 4. It very much depends on how much is riding on it for you (for us it’s important as my oldest is in private and we don’t want to send no 2 so we are desperate to get her into grammar to avoid unfairness accusations later down the line). Many parents are desperate to get their kids in so it effectively means year 5 being a write off. That doesn’t mean to say that kids don’t get in without specific intervention- it’s just harder than it used to be. You just have to be aware of how lots of parents are approaching it and decide if you potentially want your child to be part of that process because it can be time-consuming and depressing and even if you don’t subscribe to all the extra work etc it can be worrying for parents who invariably compare themselves with others.

If your child is not all that academic or you decide not to go down the grammar route then there are some really good schools but they are very oversubscribed and their catchments are getting smaller every year. If you are Catholic then you have a much wider range of options and whilst some do have entrance exams, the competition is nowhere near as fierce as it is for the non-Catholic grammars. My advice if you do decide on the Altrincham area is to move into WA14 or WA15 because that puts you in catchment for a lot of the really good schools, grammar, comprehensive and Catholic. Just be aware that the area is a bubble where a higher proportion of parents than is usual are education obsessed. Hope that’s helpful!

Totally agree with every word Moglet. I have a relative in the WA14 area, child in grammar.

Thanks for all these replies, it's really helpful to hear about the system from those in it.

Agree with all the comments about Trafford area and the grammar. We're going through it as well at the moment and it's not fun.

If you move to Altrincham, fair enough some of the non selective schools are great, but catchment is shrinking year on year. Another friend has moved to Cheadle to access Laurus Trust academy schools which could be another option?

We're sticking with it, but if son doesn't pass he'll be going to one of two 'secondary modern' type schools that I'm not thrilled about. All the catchments are so tight, I can't access any other schools!

Can I just ask, what kind of level are kids who get into the grammars at- will they be kids who get straight As at A-level type thing/go and study medicine? Or is the bracket wider than that?

Christleton in Chester is good. Upton High is a bit rough in comparison, I’d avoid.

Depends on the grammar but for the super selectives, basically yes

I think it's broader than that (straight As at A level) but you are talking about very bright kids.

There are so many kids going for places now (circa 3500), it's as much about speed as being able to answer the questions themselves. You are looking at many parents doing 1-2 years tuition, homework, mock tests, timed practice at home etc.

We lived here before having our DS, so I personally don't want to move solely for the sake of a secondary school place. I love my home and schools are only one aspect of life!

@Blondiney As a parent of a child at Upton and a teacher at another school in the area, I disagree. My child’s happy and doing incredibly well there. The teachers really impressed me at parents evenings etc. The new head started a few years ago and is making improvements to how it was a few years ago. I also know some of the staff who vouch for the new head, like working there and would happily send their own children there.

Christleton is a good school but really works off its reputation and is actually quite old school in many ways. But great academically. The staff are fab.

Bishops Blue Coat is not known for its academics. But I know someone whose child goes there and they are happy.

@mnahmnah Glad hear it’s improving. I grew up in Chester and still have a lot of family there. Ironically I live in WA14 now but have no direct knowledge of the schools, except to say that the kids from the two Grammars are exceptionally polite - even the boys!

I have 2 kids in a Trafford grammar and I would say the vast majority of kids there would have been in the top set or the most able in their class at primary. Generally a handful of kids from each school. Not sure about AL results but there's data on this if you look it up.