I am a violin teacher and bought a 1/2 size for my daughter. It is definitely a step up from the standard Stentor and worth the extra money but I did put some better quality strings on (Dominant) to improve the sound. After several years the violin and bow are as new but the hinges on the case have broken. Before buying, if your child is at state school see if the local authority runs a scheme where you can buy a new instrument without paying VAT (ask the school or music service), if not look for 2nd hand on ebay! Although made in China the Stentor 2 is way way better than brands like Lark and better quality than the student stentor.