Information on schools in Scotland

[KKKKaty]

We are considering a move from England to Scotland in the next year or so and in order to make a decision about where to live etc. I need information on schools, both primary and secondary. Could anyone direct me to the Scotland equivalent of Ofsted, Scottish League tables, exam results etc.? Also a source of information on how the Scottish system works with regard to school starting ages, catchment areas, exams systems etc. would be lovely. Many thanks!

this might help a bit

I'm not sure about league tables. I'm sure they are published but I work in primary.

this has starting ages

KKKKaty, I presume that you know that outside the big cities there are very few private schools in Scotland, so that most children attend their local school, or the next nearest. For example in my very large (area-wise) local authority area there are no private schools. Also as there are no grammar schools the schools tend to have a wide spread of abilities and you need to bear that in mind when looking at statistics. Some secondary schools are called academies, but they are not like English academies and there is no difference between "academies" and "high schools".

Children are entitled to attend their nearest school and primary schools feed into a designated secondary. To attend any other state school you have to make what is called a placing request to the local authority.

Scottish schools online will give you info about all schools in Scotland Scottish Schools Online
HMIE is the Scottish equivalent of Ofsted and will give you inspection reports HMIE
Finally there are Scottish Government stats available on exam results here Government Stats

What ages are your dcs and whereabouts are you thinking of moving to?

Forgot to say ..
Starting ages - children whose 5th birthday falls between 1 March and 28 Feb of the next year usually start primary school that year. So if child turned 5 between 1 March 2011 and 28 Feb 2012 they would have started this year. But children born between September and February can defer for a year. They enter into Primary 1 and do P 1 to P 7. So most go to secondary school aged 12, or nearly 12.

Secondary school is years S1-S6. Currently they do standard grade exams (like GCSEs) in 4th year, Highers in 5th year and more Highers or Advanced Highers in 6th year. But it is a tad more complicted as there are also exams called Intermediate 1 and 2

Plus for anyone in S2 or younger there will be a new exam system and there have been other posts on Mumsnet about the horrors unknown aspect of this

It may seem complicated, but basically it's just different and to my mind simpler than the English system. Oh and don't forget the school year runs from mid August to the end of June.

Finding a good school in Scotland sounds a lot more straightforward than finding one in England. Here most children go to the nearest school (and living in a school catchment area guarantees you a place).
Edinburgh is slightly different in that there is more of a culture there of using private schools.
Were you thinking of any particular area in Scotland?

there are 4 terms not 3 start about aug18th-12th october then 2 weeks holiday then 2 weeks off at christmas easter holiday is practically always first 2 weeks of april regardless of when easter actually is they then have the bank holidays then school finish end of june for about 6-7 weeks

it varies from area to area but normally long weekend in september november february and may bank holiday

you dont really get a choice of school but you can request different school but need reasons

you can go to uni straight after highers at 17 rather than 18 much less common than it used to be though

school year starts in august with children that are 5 or will be 5 before 29th february ( if 5 in jan or feb you can automatically defer entry to year later and will still go into P1 if 5 in december yuo can normally defer but you would need very good reason to defer if 5 in august-novemeber of school year)

they have just started something called curriculum for excellence, learning gaelic is compulsory in lots of schools, gaelic medium education available in highlands glasgow argylll and bute

because loads of scotland is very rural argyll highlands etc loads of children even from age of 5 go to school on bus. for us primary is 1 mile away next primary over 6 miles nearest secondary 8 miles children travel for up to 30 miles to get here; the next nearest 17 miles

all cities have a private schools ( quite a few in central belt not many elsewhere though) except inverness though gordonstoun is not that far away

Thanks for your replies everyone. We wouldn't be looking at private schools anyway, so we're not bothered about that. The area we're looking at is NE, Forres/Elgin probably. Thank you for the links to the websites. From what I've managed to gather so far, Forres and Elgin seem to have quite good schools, so that's one less thing to worry about!

With regard to school starting ages, it seems that we would be better off in Scotland rather than England. I have one DS born in October, who would start school the August before his 5th birthday i.e. at about 4 years, 10 months, and one DS born in June. In England he would start either after just having turned 4 (too young imo) or would wait until the Summer term of that year just before he turns 5, thereby missing out on two terms of school. However in Scotland he would start at 5 years and 2 months or so. Is my understanding correct?

The exam system seems terribly complicated, but as the boys are still only very small, I think I'll concentrate on making sure we find a house in the catchment area of a good primary that feeds into a good secondary, and then take it from there!

Another question - do they have the 15 hours free nursery thing/nursery classes in schools thing in Scotland generally, and in Moray in particular?

Thanks for your help.

You're correct about starting ages for your DC's.

Elgin/Forres both nice AFAIK. Traffic worse in Elgin. Bit of a bottle neck for those travelling through on the A96. But, I think, more amenities.

I thought entitlement to free nursery place was for 12.5 hours/week nationally? Moray may offer more though. For an October birthday funding wouldn't begin until January after he turns three, for a june birthday it would begin in the August from memory (stupid, unfair way of doing it...)

Yes they all start in August - the one with the October birthday would normally start at 4yrs 10 (but if you chose you could leave it till a year later)

The one with a June birthday will start at 5 years 2 months (no choices for that one)

Don't worry about the exam system, there's every chance it will have changed by the time yours get to that stage anyway, and the schools will let you know what they do and what their options are when the time comes.

Hello, everyone. I was really glad to find this conversation as we are planning to move to Scotland (Falkirk Council) in the nearest future (currently in London). I am very concerned how my son would be doing there as he's in year 4 already. What about Gaelic language? When do they usually start learning it? Is it taught as additional language or everything is taught in it (instead of English)? Thanks for the answer.

In my experience, in east of scotland, gaelic is not compulsory in any school and is not even an option in primary or secondary schools.

We still have to pay for/endure BBC Alba though.

You are joking about the Gaelic thing aren't you?

Gaelic is not normally taught in Scottish schools other than in Gaelic speaking areas of which Falkirk is not one. There are some Gaelic medium primary schools/units in other areas where everything is taught in Gaelic, but you would have to seek this out - it would not be the default option. Gaelic is not offered even as single subject in other primary schools. Where a Gaelic medium school/unit at primary feeds into a seconday, the secondary will offer Gaelic as a subject option in much the same way as it would offer French or German.

No Gaelic here either! Never heard of it being offered as an option either. Free nursery provision is 12.5 hours per week and in our area they have started offering it straight after turning 3 rather than the term after e.g. I know of a child who will be 3 in February and that is when they will start nursery rather than waiting until the new term

Thank you all for responses :)) It was a huge relief to read the posts!!! We are really waiting for the move but scared at the same time because everyone here in London are telling stupid stories about Scotland (I'm sure they have never even been there)!! Thanks again!!!

FWIW there are some schools which offer Gaelic but they are few and far between.

If you are looking to apply for Aug 2012 to a school outside your catchment area then you need to start now - deadline here is 15 March (NE).

MUM2002 , yes people in London do tell some stupid stories about scotland. I lived there for about 8 years so speak from experience. Someone once asked me if the telephone had reached scotland yet!

DD did Gaelic at primary school for 2 years (yes, a normal state school in Edinburgh), but that is considered quite unusual. Edinburgh does have a Gaelic medium school, no idea of elsewhere in the country but almost certain there are none in Falkirk.
I'm sure you will meet some lovely people in Scotland, we are well known for our hospitality.

CRAZYCAROL, thanks for support :)) I really hope it would be easier to adapt in Scotland than it was when we changed the location in London. The Scottish people I know are the most friendliest I've ever met!

Euphemia I think Mr Bell actually was the first person to patent the telephone. He didn't actually invent it. Apparently there is quite a lot debate about who actually invented the telephone. I think QI claimed it was Antonio Meucci but there are plenty other arguments and theories over who actually invented it.

MUM2002 Anyway, I was moved up to far north of Britain in my teens and it was fine. Education was good, more relaxed. Wasn't perfect and I have since taken my "soft southern arse" back to the south but as anywhere some people are nice, some are twats, as they are the world over. And no, at no point was Gaelic ever required learning.

Ignore the London talk, plenty of people who live in London seem to think anything outside the M25 is a deserted wasteland let alone somewhere as far north as Scotland!

Euphemia I think you can get a cream from your GP if you're coming out in Sturgeons... and of course, the prescription will be free

"And there's no doubt Bell would have achieved nothing had he stayed in Scotland!"

I swear I wasn't trying to be offensive there. The Bell thing had just stuck in my mind from a recent rerun on Dave of QI.

Also, never fear, I got plenty of cretinous comments from Scots after I moved to do with England. I stand by my assertion that twats are everywhere and are always eager to loudly share their "wisdom". I don't think they belong in any greater or lesser numbers to either country.