Come on, Trafford! Hurry up!

TraffordMum · Post by **TraffordMum** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 9:28 am

Will someone please switch the magic button on at Trafford HQ that will send out the emails or at least update online? Hurry up!

I'm sure they were quicker than this last time I was waiting for allocations. I'm confident that my daughter will get her place at Alty Girls since we know she has passed the exam and she has a sibling there already and we are in catchment, but, I need to know for sure!

Zed 1- have you heard from your authority yet? (Congrats on the MGS place, by the way!)

emsy · Post by **emsy** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 11:48 am

I'm waiting for Trafford too - we are hoping for Sale Grammar. Good luck everyone.

SALEMUM · Post by **SALEMUM** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 12:31 pm

Dear emsy.
I am waiting for news re Sale Grammar, postman has been so no doubt it will be tomorrow, no e mail either. i am at work all day tomoorow so we will have to wait until tomorrow evening, just to prolong the agony!
Good Luck

Zed 1 · Post by **Zed 1** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 1:10 pm

The e-mail system for some authorities was down!!! Manchesters was definitely (which is our LEA).
I phoned them and asked where my e-mail was! They gave me offers over the phone and we've got our 1st choice......ALTRINCHAM GRAMMAR!!!!!

Can't wait to tell them when they get home!

Zed 1 · Post by **Zed 1** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 1:19 pm

I'd advise anyone (who's as impatient as me

) to just ring their LEA admissions section. I thought their phone lines would be constantly busy, but they aren't.

I'm sure they'll give results over the phone, if you say you've applied online.

smile · Post by **smile** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 1:21 pm

Have just phoned Trafford, emails going out tonight from 5.30pm and letters by first class post.

TraffordMum · Post by **TraffordMum** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 2:38 pm

Zed 1 : That's marvellous. Congratulations to you and your boys. Will you take the places at Alty Boys or go for MGS?

Smile : How enterprising of you to ring up and find out. Thanks for that. I can stop refreshing my page every 5 minutes now

Good luck all of you. I think this is the most posters we've had on one day on Trafford!

Zed 1 · Post by **Zed 1** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 5:34 pm

Thanks Traffordmum!

We don't know anyone at Alty boys (and no-one got an offer this year from DS's school) but we know boys at MGS.

MGS have invited us to come and look around again tomorrow or Thursday to help us make a decision. I'm presuming Alty boys do a similar thing. We didn't look around too much at the open evening, as it was just one of many others we saw.

I was very impressed with both schools and thought my boys would be happy at either.

Ultimately, I think it comes down to cost.
Offer is full fee paying. So over 7 years would cost us around Â£70,000!

Is MGS really that much better than Alty boys??? What do you think?

ConcernedMum · Post by **ConcernedMum** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 6:21 pm

Have just got the e-mail now!

TraffordMum · Post by **TraffordMum** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 7:06 pm

Good news, ConcernedMum?

My email came at 5.05pm and confirmed DD2's place at Alty Girls. She and DD1 (already at Alty Girls) are very excited and planning their journey to school together

Zed 1 : Which would I pick? I'm assuming you can afford the Â£140,000, becasue if you can't then surely it's a no-brainer?

If the money is not an issue then I'd look at travel distance for each school and ease of travel. eg I know there are shuttle buses that run between the suburbs and MGS but how would the travel be from where you live to Alty? From my experience of my DD1 (Y8 ) I know that there are several days a week where she doesn't come home at the normal time so you need to know that transport is available at all hours.

Alty is scruffy but free. It's a good mix of backgrounds.
MGS is much more glamorous but you pay for it. I know its ethos is to be a good mix but I also note that the vast majority of the prep boys round here head off to MGS.

MGS is great if you have a confident achiever for a son (or sons in your case). Those of my friends who went there (who, to be fair, are all in their 30s and 40s) say it is marvellous for those who are very good at something, be it sport, academia, music etc. If you are more average in the cohort then they give the impression it's not necessarily the most comfortable place to be. Interestingly, 2 of my friends who are ex MGS have chosen Alty for their sons for that reason. However, I know several boys who currently go to MGS (whose fathers didn't) who love it.

Good luck with your decision!