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Need advice by tomorrow please - offered a job in Dumfries and Galloway

7 replies

MaybeMaybeMayBee · 24/09/2017 10:43

Hi,

I was offered a job in the DaG Royal Infirmary on Friday. Accepting this would involve a house move and a school move for my P7 child. I'm currently renting near Aberdeen.

I love the idea of living somewhere rural/village but also don't want to live too far away a drive from the hospital.

I will be moving away from family support so wraparound childcare is very important (child is only 10 at the moment). I'll be working 8 to 5 Mon-Fri so will need before and after school care. Likewise, will need somewhere full time for school holidays. In case of emergencies, i have family an hour away who could collect from school if required.

I love the idea of a small school with not very many pupils, but of course exam results are vitally important. My child is almost half way through P7 so it's high schools i'm looking at rather than primaries. Moffat Academy and Kircudbright seem to be the best in terms of exam results according t this article from 4 years ago www.heraldscotland.com/news/13137093.Revealed__Scotland_s_best_50_schools_for_Higher_exam_passes/ (can't see anything more recent) but both are very far away from my place of work.

Also, i will be renting. I've found some lovely accommodation options for New Galloway which seems to tick off the boxes in terms of the type of place I'd like to live and small number of pupils at the schools, but i don't know much about Dalry Secondary in terms of exam results etc.

Of course, i'd arrange visits to all of these places before moving.

But my potential new bosses require me to give them an answer tomorrow about whether or not I'll be accepting the position.

Can anyone give me some advice? I'm a nervous wreck about moving away from the home i've lived in for 15 years and from family support. But this is definitely the best move financially and in terms of future career prospects.

Thanks.

OP posts:
MaybeMaybeMayBee · 24/09/2017 10:45

Forgot to say - although New Galloway looks lovely, it's a 40 minute commute still from the hospital. As an LP, i'd like to have as short a time as possible commuting (need to take the car to work so public transport is not an option as will be travelling through the day to visit patients). So if anyone can recommend anywhere similar but maybe within a 20 minute drive of the hospital with good secondary schools - i'd be very grateful.

Thanks.

OP posts:
SuperLoudPoppingAction · 24/09/2017 12:03

I think Moffat's lovely.
I can't be much help other than that, but it's definitely a nice place to be a small person.

WaxOnFeckOff · 24/09/2017 13:35

I don't know the area well. Have been to New Galloway and Moniave - nice area but don't underestimate the time it takes to travel on those rural roads - it takes ages to get anywhere.

Options for childcare are probably better in the bigger towns and to be fair, it wont be for too long as your DD will be in high school soon and other than maybe after school activities, there is likely to be no provision. Also keep in mind that she may get a school bus provided to high school if you are more rural but that may not accommodate after school stuff.

WaxOnFeckOff · 24/09/2017 13:36

This may help in terms of looking at exam results, though that is never really the whole story and also smaller schools will have more skewed results as they are based on smaller numbers.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/scotsnet/3039358-Exam-results-by-school

WaxOnFeckOff · 24/09/2017 14:02

I've looked at some of the stats and Castle Douglas seems to be good in terms of results - Google maps suggests it's 30 minutes away from the hospital but maybe somewhere to live in the middle?

Just looked at some properties in Crocketford and they appear to be in catchment for Castle Douglas? No idea if you are looking to buy or rent, but just to give you an idea.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-55559506.html

stroan · 05/10/2017 13:17

I know this is probably too late. I grew up in that area and am insanely jealous. We can't live there (work reasons) but I would love to gie DD the childhood I had.

I'd rule out Moffat, it's a lovely town but the road to Dumfries is awful when it's busy, then you've got to go round the bypass to the new hospital. Fine most of the time, but busy at particular periods and I can't imagine the new hospital will make things any better.

New Galloway/Dalry is a beautiful area. But it is quite remote, my sister lives in a village nearby and feels quite isolated.

I'm not sure if things have changed, but when I was at school (Kirkcudbright Academy), Dalry Secondary only had 4 years. If pupils wanted to continue in 5th and 6th year, they had to switch to Castle Douglas High or Kirkcudbright Academy. Possibly why you can't find out much about exam results. I always felt very sorry for the kids who joined in 5th year, they weren't given an easy time of it.

There was never much between Kirkcudbright Academy and Castle Douglas High in terms of results. Kirkcudbright was often seen as the better school and it wasn't unusual for pupils to be sent there from other school catchments.

Personally, I'd be looking somewhere around Castle Douglas or further away but on the A75 (it leads directly to the hospital). Haugh of Urr is nice, good community feel to it. Bridge of Dee/Rhonehouse are tiny villages, but close to Castle Douglas. Gatehouse might be an option? Slightly larger but close to the A75, commute would be around 30 minutes. Springholm and Crocketford each have the A75 running right through the middle, I'd avoid those.

Kirkcudbright is also easily commutable and it's a really lovely town. None of the towns in that area have obvious teenage attractions, but there's plenty of clubs and sports activities going on.

Childcare may be an issue - there aren't many private nurseries or after school care settings. Childminder may be a better way to go? Or holiday clubs in Dumfries itself during the school holidays?

MoNigheanDonn · 31/10/2017 19:38

Also may be late to the party but I live in Dumfries about 10mins from current and new DGRI site.

Have child at Dumfries Academy really happy with the school, it has good exam results.

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