Moving to Scotland with teens/Scottish Education System Help!

[CatrinVennastin]

My DH comes from a farming family and his sister and BIL run the family farm/livery yard in Scotland. BIL had a heart attack last year and they are really struggling now and want to retire.

DH's company is restructuring so he's pretty sure he will be facing redundancy in the next 12 months.

Our DD's are Year 8 and Year 11 so my older DD is about to sit her GCSE's.

DH would like us to move back to Scotland so he can take over running the farm. I am a freelancer and wfh and did this pre covid anyway so as long as I have good internet I am fine. My main concern is the impact on our kids.

Is it even possible to move older kids from one system to the other? Would my DD sit her GCSE's then go and do Nat5's? Any advice would be much appreciated as can't talk to anyone in real life about this yet.

It depends on the ages of your children and when their birthdays are as the school cut off dates are different in Scotland. For Primary 1 children would start school in the August if they turned 4 before the end of the February of that year so they would be at least 4½years old. There is also an option to defer entry to primary 1 so they could also be 5½ years old.

There are 7 years of Primary school before moving to secondary school and then you have S1 to S6. You sit Nat5s in S4 and highers in S5. In S6 you can do a mix of advanced highers and highers

Highers are the next step on from GCSEs. Nat 5 are done at the same stage as GCSE. I don't think the age would matter as much as the exam stage. The only issue is that pupils will be making their higher choices around now so that might restrict subject choices at the school you choose. Also remember that schools in Scotland go back in August not September!

You might consider getting this thread moved to Scotsnet for more help

Sorry but you're going to have to get moving on this reasonably soon. The good news is that the systems align (ish) at the point where in Scottish fourth year, and English year 11, they both sit exams (NAT 5 and GCSE respectively). They then don't align again until they're finished. In fifth year Scottish kids sit their Highers and then in S6 they leave school, sit more Highers or sit advanced Highers (or some combination of the latter two).

If you hold on until your daughter has completed the first year of A level courses, she'll miss the Highers window.

As a pp said, I wouldn't worry about the actual age cutoff differences too much - if your kids keep with their current school year relative to finishing school they'll just go through being, on average, around 6 months older than their peers. Not a buggy.

@Sillydoggy

Highers are the next step on from GCSEs. Nat 5 are done at the same stage as GCSE. I don't think the age would matter as much as the exam stage. The only issue is that pupils will be making their higher choices around now so that might restrict subject choices at the school you choose. Also remember that schools in Scotland go back in August not September!

Surely their age determines which school year they would go into. My ds (age 15) is in S4 and will be sitting his Nat5s in a few weeks. He will then have to make his choices for highers

@Sillydoggy thank you, didn't realise there was a Scotsnet! I will post there.

@Crepuscularshadows thank you. Both of my girls are August birthdays so young in the English school year. Dd would be moving schools anyway as her school doesn't have a 6th form. Schools have catchment areas don't they so would it be worth me talking to the local schools about places? I've heard that schools in that area are quite full.

Yes, speak to the schools, but if you're in catchment I think they have to give you a place. It's not like England.

Have a look at the local council website education section - they'll have catchment maps to say which schools you're in catchment for. There'll be two - one nondenominational and one Catholic.

Depending on how rural your farm is, you might get school transport provided. Again, the school can point you in the right direction.

August birthdays will put them in the middle of the cohort as the birthday cut-offs run end-feb not sept.

So August birthdays in England would be in the year below in Scotland i.e. they would have started school as they turned 5 rather than as they turned 4. I think your youngest will be the same age as my friend's son - he's 13 in August and is in S1 at the moment.

You don’t have to post again for Scotsnet just report your thread and ask mumsnet to move the whole thing!

@emmathedilemma DD2 is 13 in August too so that would be S2 for her in August then I think?

If you’re going to make this move at all this summer is one of the best stages to do it. GCSCs should allow your older daughter to move straight to Scottish Highers in S5 and your younger daughter will have a year in S2 before making her choices for Nat 5 next year. Find out your catchment school options and then talk to your preferred school in advance. Maybe they would allow your daughter to make her Higher choices at the same time as everyone else so she doesn’t miss out.
Good luck with the move.

[quote CatrinVennastin]@emmathedilemma DD2 is 13 in August too so that would be S2 for her in August then I think?[/quote]
yes it would, so she'd be the mid point of age groups in the school year rather than the youngest.

It's quite a good time to move actually. Your eldest can start Highers.
Kids move schools, countries, systems etc all the time. A good school should accommodate and enable your child to adjust and make the most of her subject choices and exam options.

If you live in the catchment, you will be offered places. Out of catchment applications are taken on a case by case basis depending on how busy the school is.

And not all areas have a Catholic/non denominational choice. Out of the central belt there's just one high school per area.

Independent schools a whole different story, but they should also adapt and accommodate!

@MountainWitch thank you. We’ve been looking at 6th forms here and DD would be doing 3 a levels which feels very narrow very quickly. If DD was doing highers I think she would be able to do a much wider range of subjects.

Lots to think about.

[quote CatrinVennastin]@MountainWitch thank you. We’ve been looking at 6th forms here and DD would be doing 3 a levels which feels very narrow very quickly. If DD was doing highers I think she would be able to do a much wider range of subjects.

Lots to think about.[/quote]
Sounds positive. Based on that you might want to look at the catchment school for where you will be plus those around about if there are any specific subjects your DD in upper school wants to do. I think that in some (all?) areas not all subjects are in all schools

So now we have worked out the school system and what to do! However, fear has set in after hearing stories of terrible weather, rough areas, English kids being bullied. Please can someone tell me what it’s really like to live around Glasgow and what the schools are like. Particularly like to hear from families who have moved from England. Thank you

So it was news that Scotland has variable weather and yet you're going to a farm, to base your life being outdoors?

Sorry, I’ve done this wrong! I’m not the person moving to a farm. I used to live in Scotland, further up North and am moving back to Glasgow area after many years of being away from Scotland after being in the military but have heard that Glasgow has particularly bad weather. Not my main concern but picking up on others negativity!