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Manchester Grammar School

School rating 4 / 5 by

Old Hall Lane Manchester Lancashire M13 0XT United Kingdom
Day
4th to 12th
Gender
Boys only

Academic

Manchester Grammar School review by .

MGS ( Manchester Grammar School ) is strong all round, but historically has been known for its very good languages department. In most years, the number of boys getting Oxbridge offers from arts/sciences side is quite even. I found that the class structure is very good, and it prepares you well for university. MGS is a place where you get out what you put in - everything you need to go to a world class university and have a world class education is there, it is simply the case that you must reach out and grab it. The extra curricular side of the school is especially impressive. In my time there I was able to run cross country for a nationally respected team, climb Mont Blanc in the Alps, go desert trekking in Morocco, spend a month backpacking in Peru, and be involved in 4 different school choirs, be involved in both the Christian Union and Inter - Faith forum, speak at politics and economics club events, give talks for the philosophy society...... the list goes on and on. Classes are usually of no more than 25 boys in most years, and in sixth form never bigger than 14 (and for some subjects as few as 6). The work load is managable, depends on teachers and how good you are at working efficiently. The school has provision for boys with difficulties, and a tutor system where if you struggle at, say, maths, a 6th former may tutor you for a lunch time once a week.

College Counseling

MGS has a very good system; it is designed to send students to the best....

Sample insights on college counseling

  • They have contacts at most of the major universities and feel perfectly comfortable picking up the phone and advocating for a student to get accepted somewhere they feel is a good fit for that student. However, these counselors are certainly not magic bullets. They cannot guarantee that a student will get into an Ivy League university...
  • For those wishing to move on to Oxford or Cambridge, the provision is second-to-none. In the months running up to application and interview, every subject faculty offers classes (often run by former Oxbridge tutors) exploring further areas of their subject as well as offering advice on personal statements, interview technique and more...

Admissions - Getting Accepted

See the school website for current admissions (www.mgs.org). I got in 8 years ago, and....

Sample insights on admissions

  • For the interview, dress conservatively. Try to be very clean and put together. Also, I was a tour guide for two years and at the end of every tour, we were asked to evaluate the candidate so if you think the tour is not apart of the process, you are very wrong. Ask questions and be interested. Also, tip for the parents: the kids speak on the tour. Do not ask their questions for them...
  • Most younger siblings have an easy time in the admissions process. I can only think of one case of a younger sibling not being admitted. About half of the students who entered with me had come from public schools. The remainder came from private K-6 schools, or had transferred from other New York private schools The Elizabeth Morrow School and St. Bernard were two of the larger feeder schools...

School Life

Hot school meals are provided for all, paid for on a termly opt - in basis - you pay for a 'dinner contract' and then can go to lunch once a day for hot food. The library is very good, with everything you would want in a school library, and there are plenty of ICT resources. The buildings are quite old and dodgy in some places, but the school has put a lot of money into its new drama theatre, which I have heard is fantastic. Students are from all backgrounds - white British, asian, black, with a large number....

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