Can anyone give me any info on independent secondary schools in Manchester/N.Cheshire. Thanks

[rosalind12]

Hi, does anyone have any experience of schools in this area.
We're just considering options at the moment. Wondered whether it would be better to move DS and DD1 to the junior department of one of the schools we're considering. Just would like to hear of people's experiences or anything you've heard either good or bad.

Currently thinking of:
Stockport Grammar
Cheadle Hulme School
Kings, Macc

Both kids are very bright and I know there's also MGS and Withington but they scare me plus I'm not sure how I'd work the logistics of my son being at a different school from his sisters. Also DD2 may not be as bright then I'd have to navigate 3 schools!

Anyway, any views appreciated. Also am I missing any fab schools from the list that are within reach of N Cheshire. Thanks

bump

I know a girl who goes to Kings in Macclesfield and she really likes it - is in Y11 now and has loved it all the way through from Y7.

Hope this helps?

Kings has a very good reputation. 100% pass at Alevel and 25% A* at GCSE.
Cheadle Hulme is very sporty and vibrant with good results.
Stockport Grammar is quite snooty and their focus is very academic but parents rave about it.

All 3 very good. Really depends on the child and what you're looking for.

Very different feel to all of those schools. Just to set the scene - both my dds go to Kings (dd2 having turned down withington, mhsg, etc to go there) so obviously will be biased

I think you need to look at the character of each child. Cheadle Hulme is highly thought of but there does tend to be a lot of distractions in the class (but see comment above). Used to be very focussed on finding the best out of each child, but new head seems to be very focussed on academic achievement (I know of a few children who were refused 6th form entry as GCSE results not up to scratch - at least one had extenuating circumstances)

Stockport v highly though of, had rep for giving far too much homework (specially in early years) but seems to have addressed this in the last few years. Children seem very happy there but does focus on academics so may not suit those who are less academic. Headteacher used to be deputy at CH and seems to have brought a lot of the ethos across (for the better).

Kings (& again refer to comment above) are unique in that girls & boys educated separately between y7 - y11, but still have lots of interaction outside lessons (trips, groups etc). All school buses are mixed & teachers are shared between each site. Academic requirements into y7 are less stringent than CH & SGS, but they are more concerned with what children do outside the academic sphere (I do know of a few that were offered CH but not Kings). Very much a 'community' school. Was absolutely first choice for dd1 from the moment she saw it, & has been great so far (in y8 now - started y7 from State primary). Wasn't sure for dd2 so went through full set of offers from all the others (she did get a number of scholarships) but she decided in the end that she liked the feel of Kings and seems to have settled very well. Both are thriving and seem very valued at the school (dd1 is a typical works hard, causes no trouble elder child so had been completely ignored in primary) but obviously I cant say what would have happened if they had gone to any of the other schools.

For primary, dd2 went to Wilmslow Prep in y4 (after lots of problems in local primary) and loved it - couldn't recommend it highly enough. Many of her friends brothers went to Ryleys which also gets good report.

Sorry this is long, hope it helps. please feel free to PM me if you want any more info.

Thank you to everyone, especially Berries for your insider information.

I have now visited all three feeder preps and have narrowed it down to Kings and Cheadle Hulme. SGS was very polished and academic but seemed souless to me. I can see that children do very well there but it's all about the (kid's) experience for me and I liked what I saw at both the others.

DH and I are going back to see both. Feel a little guilty about taking up their time again but I want to be sure as it's not just the prep we're choosing but the secondary school.

I was very interested in the separate but not system at Kings. I haven't been keen on single-sex but maybe this offers the advantages without the disadvantages. They made quite a point about stressing how much mixing actually goes on. Everyone I've spoken to seems to have good things to say about Kings.

I liked CHS too though! and DS really warmed to it. Berries, you obviously placed a lot of emphasis on how your DD felt when she visited Kings. Would you say that counts for a lot?

Two more questions, sorry. Putting your personal bias aside, would you say they are both good schools offering a very good, well rounded education?(You mentioned that CH may be becoming a bit too academically focused)
And am I doing the right thing moving them to their respective junior departments or would you suggest moving them to an independent prep? I've heard good things about Ladybarn House in Cheadle. Maybe at an external prep they'd get more exam practice. Oh it's so difficult!

Thanks once again for your insight. Ros

Just a wee bump in case Berries or anyone else in the know is around.

sorry for the delay - don't get time to check very often nowadays!

Don't worry about going to see the schools again. Any good school will be happy to show you round as often as you like - it's in their best interest to make sure school & child suit each other.
Both schools are good schools so I think it will end up being personal preference. I would suggest looking round both during lesson time (if you haven't already) including the senior schools. All the children I know who go to either school are very happy (but so are the ones at SGS).

I personally prefer the co-ed/single sex teaching style at Kings (but it is a very personal thing). There's definately a lot of mixing going on (eldest dd is 13 & she has a lot of 'mates' from the boys side!). Academic range is probably larger at Kings, & it would be v unlikely than any child from the prep wouldn't be offered a place in the senior school - not sure whether this is true for CHS, but Kings does attract a lot of the high flyers from S Cheshire who can't get to the Manchester schools (exceptionally bright dd2 has at least 4 others of similar ability in her class). Kings definately emphasises the 'well-rounded' child which is what I wanted for mine (dd2 is v bright but social skills not great - is thriving after 1 term), and lots of the kids are involved in music & sport. Senior orchestras have a place for any grade of player (not just rade 3 on) and they can progress through the orchestras. Can't give you as much info on the sport as mine are less into team sports, but dd1 (I hate sport) now classes it as a good day if they have games so they must be doing someting right.
As regards prep schools, they will prep (hence the name) them for the senior schools much more than a school with a senior division of its own, but you should be able to pass for the other schools from either Kings or CHS.

Anyway - hope this helps, really difficult decision to make so happy to provide any information I can.

Berries, thank you so much for taking time to reply once again.

I will be going back to both. I've already made a second appointment and they were absolutely fine about it, encouraged it, in fact. I think it may just come down to a feeling we/DS gets. I'd also like to try driving to each at 8am. There were things I really liked about both so hopefully a second visit can make things clearer.

With regards transfer, both schools whilst stating that transfer wasn't automatic, made clear that it was extremely unusual for a child not to transfer.

Having 2DDs and one DS, I wasn't keen on single-sex schools for logistical reasons but at Kings, that obviously wouldn't be a problem. Nice to hear that your DD1 has had ample opportunity to socialise co-ed.

I have at least decided that I'm doing the right thing by moving them into the independent sector. I'm not sure how much tutoring you did with your DD1 but I'd rather they were prepared in school than having tutoring on top of homework. Also, for DS especially who is bright but very shy, the gradual familiarisation with the senior school will be helpful esp at CH as the junior school is on the same site as the senior school.

Anyway, thanks once again for your insight. We're obviously quite lucky to have such a range of excellent independent senior schools locally (inc the Manchester ones).

I've heard the Grange in Northwich is very good, not sure if that's in the running ?
Kings is brilliant apparently but also hard to get into.

Hi, not sure what year your children are in but going from private junior to senior was far easier than going from state. DD1 was tutored for 9 months before the entrance exams and the difference in standard expected was quite noticeable (& her primary is regularly in the top 10).

If it helps (but trying not to do a 'selling' job here) had dd1s parents evening a few weeks ago & it was lovely that so many of the teachers really 'got' her, she did tend to get overlooked in primary.

Also, apparently you can't get away with anything at school because all the teachers (esp the principal) know your name after the first half term . Last year the head girl had to memorise every girls name for charity, and greet them all by name on the way into assembly. The advantage of splitting in y7 - y11 is that it feels like a small school, but has economies of scale of a larger school.

Anyway, enough about Kings, I'm sure you'll get a feel for one or other of the schools when you look round and that will make the decision for you, they're both good schools and as you say, we're lucky having the choice.

BTW Grange is supposed to be a very good school, but logistics ruled it out for us. It may be worth a look if you are in an area they do school buses from (dds don't like being driven to & from school as they do half their socialing on the bus!)