Trafford grammar schools va Cheadle hulme high

[LadyS12]

Hello, we are planning a house move and can’t decide between trafford and Cheadle hulme.
We are looking at Trafford for the grammar schools and Cheadle hulme for Cheadle hulme high which is an excellent comprehensive school. It’s currently the best in the north west apparently. The kids are still preschool and primary school age so we have time but would like to get settled into a new area sooner than later.
We have found some lovely homes in Cheadle Hulme but are struggling to get a pretty house for our budget.
What would you do?
Trafford to try get into the grammar schools or Cheadle hulme for Cheadle hulme high?

Ah I see, I don’t think I would mind that as the academics is what i’m after lol!

That’s amazing to hear, really reassuring especially about their stance on bullying which can be rife in some schools. It sounds like it’s a positive environment to learn and teach which is important because staff happiness will eventually affect the kids also.
Do they have a lot of extracurricular activities?

Tutoring 8+ hours per week?! That’s excessive, when do they get to enjoy being young?
I already feel guilty for potentially not giving my kids a chance at a grammar school and I don’t even live in the area! 😂
Thanks for being so honest though I really appreciate it, it’s not nice having these kind of regrets. Do you think you will move areas at some point soon? Some of my friends plan on leaving Sale for cheaper areas as soon as their kids get accepted into their preferred schools.

Yes I have seen the table of outcomes, scary! We are looking at houses within 0.6 miles of CHHS so I think we should be alright.

If your children are preschool and primary surely you can have no idea of what any school will be like by the time they are ready for secondary? A change of head can change the whole ethos of a place.
It's sensible to be somewhere where you aren't in a secondary school dead zone if you can.

Yes 334 is the pass and highest score this year was 405 I think. I’m sorry, I’ve no idea about 6th form

@LadyS12 The extracurricular is excellent, very varied so lots of sports but there’s also an amazing drama department and other varied clubs if your children are more into art or academia. It’s honestly a really inspiring place to teach. I only left because I had my first child and knew I wanted to be at home with the children until they started primary. Even then they bent over backwards to accommodate me, offering even one or two days a week and saying I could come back in the future any time. Sorry if you have already considered it but do you know there is also Laurus Cheadle Hulme? It’s part of the same trust, also an amazing school and a through school so children start at reception and go all the way through although they have separate buildings but the same campus

That's the view a lot of parents take. The competition for places is fierce and for external sixth form students they can choose who they want to take. The primary and secondary is oversubscribed every year.

What is your budget?

Exactly! And it's not just one child I'm aware of either...

Unfortunately we're stuck here for the foreseeable as my eldest did get into the local grammar (to be fair he loves it) and we're coming to the end of preparation for my second who's in with a good chance (we have a third who hasn't started yet too and it seems unfair to not give her the same chance as her brothers). But we have already started planning where we can move to once it's all over - we could afford a mansion for the same price as our ridiculously overpriced small semi-detached house in other parts of the country!

A bit late to this thread but just to flag that a friend of mine also had negative experiences at Cheadle Hume High regarding the pastoral care for her son. It seems to be a great school if your kid is academic & toes the line, but if they struggle and need extra support then this seems to be where they come down. It’s not for everyone.

Have you thought about other parts of South Manchester, like Chorlton / West Didsbury / Withington? Cheadle Hulme High have a sister school - Didsbury High School. Also excellent results and high performing, and there are other schools nearby that would suit if the kid isn’t hugely academic, like Chorlton High or Parrs Wood. A bit more liberal and nurturing. I second what someone else said on an earlier post though - a new headteacher can change a school in an instant.

Also, one thing to think about with Cheadle Hulme is that it’s on the flight path for Manchester airport, so expect to get used to take off & landing noise everyday from 6am.

I wouldn’t even consider Trafford. A friend of mine is in Sale and under a mile from 2 state secondaries - they ended up getting their 8th choice this year. And that’s not even including grammars. Too many people and not enough schools - seems like it’s at crisis point.

We’re in Chorlton.

Another Trafford mum here. Four dc just prepping the fourth one for entrance exams. The first 3 passed.
My advice?
Stay the hell away. If I knew what I knew now there is no way I would live here. As @IsThatYouPamsaid that level of tutoring is getting more and more common and it’s only going to get worse. We’ve had a huge influx of people from hong king into Altrincham and surrounding areas and while that’s amazing for cultural diversity in the area they have a very different attitude education combined with the prep schools preparing their kids to a much higher level than the state school kids it’s making it very hard to pass now.

Sorry but I wouldn’t want to live in Cheadle Hulme. I also would look at Knutsford or Lymm great non grammar schools and lovely places to live.

We live in Trafford and love it here, but the school situation is stressful and I’m not sure we would have settled here if I knew then what I know now.

We have two DC - one at a grammar and one at a local comp (highly regarded and you have to live close by to get in - our semidetached house is worth about £800K as it is very near this school).

The grammar is excellent and my DC is very happy there. However he only just scraped in despite being pretty clever (100% in one of the SATS maths). He had small group tutoring 1 hour per week plus we spent quite a bit of time doing practice papers from Easter to Sept of year 5. He didn’t go to a very good primary though which didn’t help.

I have been disappointed with the comp despite it being so competitive to get in and honestly wouldn’t recommend it. Also there are parts of Sale where you won’t get in to Ashton on Mersey or Sale High and you may end up with Broad Oak or Lostock, which are not well regarded.

No you aren’t late at all! We still haven’t found a house yet but we think we will buy in Cheadle hulme because the Trafford School situation is a bit of a minefield.
I have heard about how hard it is to get a place now in any school there.

We used to live in Chorlton too before kids but I like the suburban feel of Cheadle hulme. We haven’t actually explored any other areas at all so i’ll have a quick look on right move for Didsbury and the surrounding areas to see what we can get for our money. Our budget is 600k for a 4 bed, we may be able to stretch a little bit for a house that doesn’t require work.

@troppibambini6 lol that’s quite strong advice but I appreciate it. Everyone I have spoken to in person so far love it but their kids are in nursery so I can’t really take their advise about the high schools.
Im glad your older kids passed and hope your 4th will pass too.
We heard about the influx into the area. Do you think the VAT hike on private schools are also putting pressure on the grammars and popular state schools?

Why do you not like Cheadle Hulme?

Ah ok fair enough. Have you thought about the Heatons? Heaton Mersey / Moor? Still feel a bit more rural & very family orientated . Schools also meant to be brilliant. But I’m sure Cheadle Hulme will be a good shout. Lots of people move there so there must be a good reason for it! Good luck with it all!

@LadyS12it is a nice place to live! But the school situation is just ridiculous! My eldest is in the second year of her degree now and it’s so much harder to get a place now than when she did it.
Are you catholic? That can make it a bit easier if Ambrose or loreto an option. Although they are still tough to get into but not quite as tough as AGGS or ABGS.
That said mine passed for them and we decided to not send them there and go for catholic option as we felt better for them. Haven’t regretted it yet.

Cheadle Hulme just feels a bit meh…. Not much there and not really near anywhere.

I’m local too and not heard any impact of vat. The privates are still high demand and you have to tutor to get in as a general rule etc. Cheadle Hulme is relatively quiet suburbia so depends what you after. Train line to town. Avoid direct flight path tho. East didsbury / Cheadle a bit cheaper I think

I think there’s been an impact. Completely anecdotal evidence but my daughter’s school would normally have about 8 kids go to private - this year most didn’t even sit and only 2 are going. This is 100% because of the cost.

Agree. Apparently there was a 13% increase in the numbers of people applying to sit the 11+ last year which I'm guessing is, at least in part, down to the increase in private school fees (although happy to be proven wrong)!

Interesting as at our old primary more are going private than normal. Maybe it’s very area specific.

I think you might be right. It’s a grammar area so I think more decided to try their luck there

@Moglet4 where as heatons / Cheadle Hulme / didsbury etc are non grammar and harder but not impossible to get into Trafford ones.

I seem to be late to this thread, too, sorry! I live in Cheadle Hulme and have had 3 kids who attended Cheadle Hulme High School. The radius for the kids seems to be getting narrower, so 0.6 miles is pretty borderline, so I would consider finding a house 0.5 miles away if possible. I agree that it is a big ask to find a house you like within such a narrow radius, and I had the same problem when I moved.

CHHS is the best comprehensive school in Stockport. However, they do have a lot of behavioural problems, lots of kids disrupting classes and a good number of kids who just don't want to learn. It is probably the same thing in other schools but just letting you know that my kids found that the school were struggling to clamp down on certain behaviour. CHHS had oftsed in this week so hopefully they will maintain their outstanding rating.

I have another kid who I chose not to attend CHHS if possible, and they are now at a Trafford Grammar. The competition is very intense and as an out of catchment child, it's very hard to get in although it is possible.

I agree you get more for your money in Cheadle and this is why we ruled out moving to Trafford, plus I thought Cheadle was prettier as well!

If you are really keen on sending the kids to a Grammar, I would move to Trafford and give it your best shot.

I love Cheadle Hulme. Its location is great. It's so easy to get to Manchester Airport (flight path is not over my house), good transport links and great amenities. I would really recommend it if you are happy for your kids to go CHHS.

Hi we are looking to buy in CH for CHHS and obviously this is tricky as it’s oversubscribed. We have one option for a house near Laurus Cheadle H. How would you compare the two? I’ve had people say to me to definitely choose CHHS over LC. Argh!

I think the GCSE exam results for CHHS were a lot better than Laurus last year.