My school dilemma

[mmsmum]

Hi,
I've started a thread in Education, Secondary Education about my school dilemma. I would really really appreciate advice from local Mums who might have personal knowledge of the schools I'm talking about. I posted in Education to get a wider opinion but would love Glasgow Mums to help please.
Thank you :)

PS> Should I link to it? How do I do that?

There are loads of cheap flats in the Shawlands catchment.

From what Prettybird says it sounds like a good school.

Shawlands is tenements and I hate tenements with a passion, also have a dog so it would be a nightmare and Dd would probably take herself to social services, she hates them more than I do and needs a garden like she needs air lol

I think the changes at Shawlands will take a few years to filter through. Only 8% of kids got 5 or more highers in 2009 (Found it in the Herald) It's nothing like the % at East Ren. or East Dunbartonshire schools and it's even lower than the one we are moving away from. I think what Shawlands are trying to do is great but the benefits might not be seen for a while.

mms: if you still want to buy rather than rent, would you be able to afford this? You'd still have to do a placing request for Shawlands but it is only a 25 minute walk. (We were told that they get c.30 placing requests every year and all are accommodated)

This one would be in the catchment.

I set £90,000 as the maximum for the search.

For £100k, you could get this - which would be a half hour walk (the school does rent out bikes and helmets for £30 a year to encourage cycling) or this flat in Langside.

Our biggest financial regret is that we sold our lovely flat in Shawlands when we moved to Pollokshields (we could easily have afforded both mortgages, even before any rental income) - we just didn't think of it at the time.

Not sure what you would be able to afford to rent but if you don't want a flat, this looks nice, whereas this would probably be a bit too big for you.

We live in the Shawlands catchment area, almost all the teenagers round here go there and we have some great kids nearby including good babysitters. We live in a house with a garden 5 mins walk from Pollok Park and 10-15 mins walk from the school. My kids won't go there as they are in bilingual education at the Glasgow Gaelic School but if they weren't getting this specialist provision then I'd be delighted to send them there (and I'm a secondary teacher).

You do seem to have made up your mind though. We have friends who live over the road who moved form East Ren into Shawlands and everyone thought they were off their heads but their ds is doing so much better at Shawlands than he did at Mearns Castle.

But I am a passionate advocate of the Southside (me and pb both!)

Another here too who would use Shawlands before Hutchy - bunch of rude and bloody awkward self-entitled kids if I ever saw them - I've phoned the school about their behaviour to staff in the local supermarket!

Seems cheeky to ask, but where are you moving from adn why are the schools there not up to scratch?

The headteacher has been there for a number of years (I think 5), so I don't think it is a matter of the changes filtering through. It does however, suffer from a cultural bias where (some of) the young Asian girls are expected not to perform as they are going to be married, so they are just not motivated.

What it does do is ensure that all those kids that are keen and have potential are encouraged to achieve their maximum potnetial :) I know this from talking to a number of teachers there - and who, even more importantly, have been happy for their own children to go there (and who have subsequently gone on to Uni).

... sorry, just to make it clear - it is not the school who expects the young Asian girls not to perform, it is the girls themselves as they know that they will soon be married. The school does its best to offer them wider horizons.

Also meant to say mms that I had done my earlier post before seeing yours on tenements. I can understand why, with a dog, you wouldn't want a tenement: we have cats, which could cope with "close" living.

Hi weegiemum :)

Thanks prettybird, you seem to have spent lots of time helping me! I'll have a proper look when I've got more time later.

Weegiemum I would choose Shawlands over Hutchie too, I would choose just about anything over Hutchie lol But I'm not all that keen on the Southside tbh.

I have to move for personal reasons and always planned to before dd went to secondary anyway. The school she would go to if we weren't moving has a behavioural unit, a full time police officer and from speaking to other Mums major behavioural and discipline problems. I have a friend who took her son out because he was coming home and answering how was school? By telling her who had been stabbed, who had drugs and who was pregnant! It's results are a bit better than Shawlands but a lot of the kids are scary and the girls look horrendous. Dd knows a girl who looked 'normal' when she started but got picked on/bullied and now wears short tie, short skirts and tons of make-up just to fit in. That's sad

I'm another Southside lover. No better place in the UK to live imo :)

Ds1 is in 6th year at Shawlands. I really like the new head and all of Ds's friends are lovely BUT I'm not sure I would send him there again?

The choices at Standard and at H grade are very very limited. Ds couldn't do what he wanted whenever he was choosing subjects and there was no flexibility whatsoever.

Communication between school and parents is poor. It is virtually impossible to get someone to call you back when you phone even if the matter is very important. They don't tell you if there is a problem until it is too late.

DS1 is a very bright boy but not so school focussed. He was virtually written off by the teachers. Despite this he got 2 As at Highers but failed all the rest. I think the school labels pupils very young and then it's impossible for them to change their view.

The Art and Music departments are fantastic and Ds1 has been on some brilliant trips so it's not all bad but some of the teachers are unbelievable and the Head really needs to get rid.

Where are you moving from mmsmum?

The other thing to realise about statistics is that if a school encourages a pupil to do a suject offered by the local college rather than the school (which it actively does in order to enrich the curriculum), then that result is not included within the school's results (so, for example, if a pupil does 3 Highers at the school and 2 at the college during school hours, and passes them all, then the statistics would say that the pupil only passed 3 Highers )

I know that this was something that really frustrated School Board/Parent Council Chair people at a meeting the Glasgow School Chairs Forum that I went to.

I think there is talk of changing that - but don't think it has happened yet.

That's interesting Bideyin - it's good to get another perspective (the parents I know have S1, S3 and S5 pupils who are all very happy).

It sounds a bit like Bearsden when I was there where you got labelled early on (don't think it will be an issue for ds as he is a teacher's pet keen to learn - but that could all change in the teenage years ) and then got the resources appropriately (or not, IMHO)

FYI on schools East Ren. wants to break catchment agreement with Glasgow for St Ninians

mmsmum

• this is in the catchment area for Williamwood. I know it's a flat but it is very differemnt to a tenement. Looks lovely - fixed price £105,000 www.s1homes.com/Flats-for-sale/Renfrewshire-East/Busby/31-Printers-Land-G76-8HP/2010101516391207.shtml Busby is actually part of Clarkston - cheaper more Ex LA, but some roads are quite countrylike. Has a train station , shops .

Or this flat £90,0000 - catchment = Mearns Castle. www.s1homes.com/Flats-for-sale/Renfrewshire-East/Newton-Mearns/Shaw-Court,-Broomhill-Gardens-G77-5GH/2010080520044424.shtml
hth

@mmsmum

Thanks prettybird, you seem to have spent lots of time helping me! I'll have a proper look when I've got more time later.

Weegiemum I would choose Shawlands over Hutchie too, I would choose just about anything over Hutchie lol But I'm not all that keen on the Southside tbh.

I have to move for personal reasons and always planned to before dd went to secondary anyway. The school she would go to if we weren't moving has a behavioural unit, a full time police officer and from speaking to other Mums major behavioural and discipline problems. I have a friend who took her son out because he was coming home and answering how was school? By telling her who had been stabbed, who had drugs and who was pregnant! It's results are a bit better than Shawlands but a lot of the kids are scary and the girls look horrendous. Dd knows a girl who looked 'normal' when she started but got picked on/bullied and now wears short tie, short skirts and tons of make-up just to fit in. That's sad

Hi I'm interested to see how things worked out for you and your daughter. Where did she end up going and how was the experience?