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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To want to reiterate that 'yes' it's August and 'yes' Scottish schools are back

287 replies

MammyV · 20/08/2016 05:35

Honestly on every post on here which mentions a child being in school at the moment, someone, at least one poster states 'are you abroad or something' or 'why are your kids in school it's only august?'
Please please understand that most Scottish schools commence back after summer from around the 15th August, we are not abroad, we are in the Uk (at the moment anywayHmm) and I am fully aware of the English/Welsh holidays as its blasted a cross the BBC enough, just irritates me with some of the comments
(Will get off my Scottish high horse now)
Thanks xxx

OP posts:
MrsJayy · 21/08/2016 09:25

I dont get reception I know what it is but I dont understand sending just 4 year olds to school when we send ours to nursery.

LunaLoveg00d · 21/08/2016 09:27

But that used to be the same in England/Wales, purple, kids used to be able to leave education after GCSEs. In Scotland very few kids nowadays leave at 16 and go straight into work, most will stay on at school for S5 and many for S6 too, others will go to college or take up an apprenticeship.

MrsJayy · 21/08/2016 09:31

5th year is sort of compulsary if they have a winter birthday they need to stay on till christmas,

LunaLoveg00d · 21/08/2016 09:31

Agree MrsJayy I do think many children at just turned 4 are far too young for school. I have a daughter whose birthday is next week, had we stayed in England she would have been packed off to school aged 4 and 6 days. With no option to defer her.

Much happier that we're in Scotland where she's around the middle of the year age wise. We just have so much more flexibility over things.

prettybird · 21/08/2016 09:33

MrEBeard - you're right that Y7 equals S1 in that they are both the first year at secondary but in terms of years at school (and years still to go), S1 is actually the equivalent of Y8.

But as Luna says, there are so many differences, not least of which the 6 month difference in age cut-offs and the true ability to defer (England not sure about Wales has started to allow this but from reading MN, this can still cause problems later, especially in areas with the 11+), it really is comparing apples and pears.

Plus there are no voluntary aided religious schools - the Catholic schools are 100% state (themselves with defined catchment areas) whether we should have denom and nondenominational schools is another debate Winkand we went fully comprehensive back in the 60s.....

PurpleKittyKnitting · 21/08/2016 09:33

I think it's the same for English/Welsh students, most stay on as they have to, but that isn't regulated in any way!

MrsJayy · 21/08/2016 09:34

Ime nowadays kids do stay on they cant get any money till they are 18 so most kids either stay on or go to college . I left in 4th year kids these days are encouraged to stay in education I think.

Cocoabutton · 21/08/2016 09:35

Thanks for all the explanations about Y1= P1 (sort of, I am still trying to understand the cut off date impact on ages).

In Scotland, DC have to be in formal education by age 6. I remember looking into it when considering deferring DS.

PurpleKittyKnitting · 21/08/2016 09:38

MrsJayy, I mentioned this to OH yesterday, so if a a child's birthday was say the end of August, could they leave then, a week or so into 5 th year?

MrsJayy · 21/08/2016 09:39

Luna I have a winter dd there wasnt much deferring when she started p1 so she was 4..5 far to young imo now parents are deferring as norm which I agree with. Dd was always to young all the way through primary and didnt really catch up till 3rd year of high school.

hidingwithwine · 21/08/2016 09:41

My DS1's friend left school last June (S4 after N5 exams) and wasn't 16 until late December. If you're 16 by the 31st Dec that year you can leave on completion of S4, otherwise you are a "Christmas leaver". I didn't actually think there were still Christmas leavers but there you go.

MrsJayy · 21/08/2016 09:42

No they leave after exams end of May start of junePurple they dont start back school the August term so they are 15 when they leave.

MrsJayy · 21/08/2016 09:44

They used to do 2 intakes when I started school in the 70s August and January not sure when that stopped.

treaclesoda · 21/08/2016 09:46

I've got a piece of trivia! N Ireland is apparently the only place in Europe where it is compulsory to start formal schooling at the age of four. I understand that whilst in reality children in England DO start at 4 because they need to get into reception to be sure of their place in year 1, strictly speaking it isn't actually compulsory.

Olympiathequeen · 21/08/2016 09:47

I used to be very Confused when Scottish friends posted 'off on holiday' early in July and posted pics of kids in new school uniforms in August until I realised the wierd Scottish system Grin

Expellibramus · 21/08/2016 09:47

Scottish school holidays are not "odd" or at an "odd time". They are what they are. And some of you may well be "indoctrinated". I presume the polar bear person voted Brexit given that she betrays distinct signs of the little englander mentality!
Lollol

Few extra school days a year might have been a good thing here.

OiWithThePoodlesAlready · 21/08/2016 09:48

I am so glad to be in Scotland when I read about children in England having to go to school at just turned 4.

If I were in England my dd1 would have gone a year earlier than she did up here. She was 5 years and 4 months when she started. Before that she was in nursery 5 mornings a week for 2 years. Dd2 has a January birthday and I'll most likely send her when she is 5 years and 8 months (although she could go the year earlier at 4 years and 8 months).

When I was at school you could leave after your 16th birthday which for me was part way through 5th year. I completed 5th and 6th year so was 17 when I left school and went to uni.

While we're discussing secondary what is a 6th form collage?

PurpleKittyKnitting · 21/08/2016 09:52

My school had a sixth form and I did a one year course (not academic, didn't want to do A levels).

My daughter went to college to do her A levels and BTECs

LunaLoveg00d · 21/08/2016 09:58

Sixth form college is where some children in England and Wales go for their A-levels. In some areas, like where my niece went to school, the secondary school only went up to age 16. Everyone left after GCSEs and if you wanted to carry on to A-level you went to college, or to another school.

From what I understand, Sixth Form College is a half way house between school and College/Uni - they don't wear uniform, but are expected to be there at certain times, registers are taken, they have homework etc.

We don't really have that concept in Scotland, nearly all secondary schools offer S5 and S6 as standard. The only example I've come across was a friend from Shetland, she did S1 - S4 in a "junior high school" near her home and had to transfer to Lerwick for S5 and S6. Quite often though schools will get together and pool students for less popular classes - back in the days when I was doing SYS in 6th year we had a couple of girls from the school up the road join us for French to make up the numbers.

tadjennyp · 21/08/2016 10:00

oiwith some LEAs in England (not sure about Wales and NI) organised their secondary schools so that they would only do 1st - 5th year/ year 7-11 and then if students wanted to go on to do A Levels they could go to the 6th Form college which would be able to offer a greater variety of courses. Students who were less academic would go on to the technical college to follow more vocational courses. Things have moved on a bit since then, but that is how it started. As far as I am aware, rural schools always had their own 6th form.

MrsJayy · 21/08/2016 10:00

Oh I got told off on here for saying High School I was told "unless you are American we do not say High School on mumsnet" then they started muttering about Amercanisms 😀

LunaLoveg00d · 21/08/2016 10:04

Really? the name of the school I went to was X High School. Lots in Edinburgh had that name.

What really confuses my English rellies is that my son's school is called X Academy. They automatically assume that it's either private, or an "academy" in the English sense that it's opted out of local authority control and sets its own curriculum and so on. It's neither - it's a normal secondary school which just happens to have "Academy" in the name.

treaclesoda · 21/08/2016 10:07

Lots of High Schools in N Ireland too. It is usually 'Name of town or area' High School.

MrsJayy · 21/08/2016 10:10

I think the poster was in their English bubble where she said secondary and didnt realise we have High school most if not all scottish schools are X high. The poster was hilariously offended think GB was being flooded by Americanisms

prettybird · 21/08/2016 10:10

Same thing with "Academy" - doesn't mean it's part of an Academy group or anything special - it's just the historic name of the school.

Even schools with "Grammar" in their title aren't Grammar schools Confused

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