Another school dilemma

[daveyb]

Our son is 2 years away from starting primary school but we are new to the area and not familiar with Glasgow schools. We live in the westend and are wondering what schools are worth considering in the area ? also should we be thinking about secondary schools as some primary schools would have feeder schools ? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Hillhead Primary has a lovely new building in Kelvingrove Park and I really like the ethos, which is strong multicultural, positive community school, good social mix.

I'm sure others will be around to advise - some people feel Glasgow schools are poor and move away or go private. Frankly my experiences have been good so far.

I've had a great experience of Glasgow Gaelic School - I'm not a Gaelic speaker and nor are any of the family. The nursery feeds the primary (although my DS went straight to p1 from English nursery without a problem)which in turn feeds directly into the secondary with some new pupils joining from Greenock, EK, etc.

Takes a wee bit of commitment to get to grips with the homework but worth it for the nice community ethos and good traditional arts provision.

Downahill Primary had a good reputation. I thought about putting dd in there when I was in the west end

Thanks for the replies some really good info. Normantebbit do you know if the new Hillhead school would be over-subscribed ? we would need to put in a placement request I think.

boncebouncer I really like the idea of the Gaelic school but are there many parents who arent fluent in the language ? how can parent help with homework etc ?

Does anyone know how the primary & secondary at Hyndland rate also, was looking at those also

60% of gaelic school DCs have no family connection with the language

there is a sat am class to help the parents with the homework

my cousin went to hyndland in the 80s/90s, got in with the 'wrong' crowd and totally f*ed up her life

have no idea what it's like now, though

I think over 70 per cent of children at Hillhead are there through placing request. The reason is that it is near the university and teaching hospitals and staff seem to prefer to have their children at school near their workplace. It means there is real social mix of cultures and ethnicities; German, French, Spanish, Swiss...

I think the school tries to accept every placing request it receives, so it's worth phoning them. The headteacher is very approachable and supportive if you go to see him.

I think Hyndland Primary and Secondary are also popular, as are Notre Dame Primary and Secondary if you want a faith school.