Contemplating moving to Edinburgh - help with schools?

[stikmatix]

Hi ladies,

Could I please pick your brains? With DH now working away, we are considering moving to Edinburgh, his home city, a place which we really love. At the moment we are living with my Mum (no laughing pls!) in Greater London and have the kids in private schools.

We would consider moving maybe for August 2012, when our kids would be in P7, P4 & P2 (I think I have calculated this correctly according to Scottish cut off) and one in Nursery.

We would be looking at both options, private and state. DH went to Edinburgh Academy and SIL went to St George's. I'd prefer co-ed to have all kids in the same school, it'd be easier than at the moment when they are not! I know which private schools are there in Edinburgh, but would like to hear any recent experiences with any of them. Also, do places come up easily at strange times?

Now on to state options. With the catchment area system, if looking at state schools, we would move to the catchment area of the one we wanted, as DD1 would only have a year of primary left. The problem remains of finding primary places for them. Is it easy to find places in a decent primary? I know that there are the usual suspects (I don't need to name them) which are ALWAYS oversubscribed, and that doesn't worry me at all, but I'd appreciate any ideas on decent primaries that often have places in various year groups.
DH's cousin and her family moved from Glasgow to Edinburgh a couple of years back and moved to Marchmont as their DD was P7 and they wanted Gillespie's. They got the two kids into Bruntsfield Primary so were happy with that.

Is it common to NOT be offered a place in your catchment high school? Or is this unlikely? DH really fears bullying as our kids have obviously English accents! Which high schools would be worth considering? Our kids are bright (sorry, not trying to show off or anything, but trying to be objective) and quiet. Our oldest DD is very conscientious and loves reading. Would like to hear opinions on Gillespie's, Boroughmuir, Firrhill, Royal High and Craigmount - or any other recommendations, I'm open to suggestions!

Sorry this got long, thanks for reading!

Hi,we are relocating to Edinburgh from London because of my husband's job. The closest school to where we will be(Murrayfield area) seems to be Roseburn and Balgreen. DD will have to join P1 in Jan12 and Roseburn is full. Does anybody have any information on Balgreen primary school,children studying there?Most of the primary schools seem to be full and moving at this point in the academic year does not help. Any feedback/advice either on this school or any other neighbouring primary schools will be appreciated.Thanks.

p1 is not a good year to move into at the moment to find a place, because the government capped the class numbers at 25 last year. Most of the good popular schools are therefore full and kids turned away. Balgreen is an ok(ish) school, but not one of the popular ones, probably coming in the lower half of the tables for attainment (can't find the most recent tables so unable to be certain on this point). Its catchment area covers a mix of housing including private and social housing. Another reason why it isn't as popular is because its linked high school is Tynecastle which while in a brand new school does not have the best of reputations and not great for exam results. However if you are in catchment for Roseburn School the associated high school is Craigmount

P1 is never a good year to move with the capped classes. Balgreen is a fairly smallish school now. My children's cousin is there and thriving well but she is a deferred entry and in a composite class. Roseburn have composite classes and probably a place will come up before or for P2.

Thank you Crazycarol and Grovee.I agree with you about the timing of our move but unfortunately, we don't have much of a choice. DD is in a very good school at present. She loves going to school and is very proud of her school. I'm really keen that the positive experience she has had of schooling to date continues.I am worried now that we might not have any choice about which school dd goes to due to the timing of our move to Edinburgh.Does anybody have any experience of primary schools within commutable distance from Murrayfield?
Grovee, you mentioned composite classes-what is that?
Thanks

Composite classes are when the eldest of say P1 are put in a class with the youngest of P2 because there aren't enough children to make one class per year or there is an overflow. To be honest friends who are teachers say composite aren't too much more work than a normal class due to differences in children and what they are working towards but these classes are capped at 25 giving a nice small class compared to 30 in a class.

Gylemuir/Corstorphine/Carrick Knowe aren't too far away, nor is Stenhouse or Fox Covert (RC or non Dom) would be the ones who spring to mind. The first 2 are usually full til further up the school due to their popularity and large catchment area's.

Myself and my family are moving to Bruntsfield in Edinburgh on the 17th December and my 6 year old son is due to start at Bruntsfield Primary School after Christmas. Does anybody have any children that go to bruntsfield my son will be going into primary 2?If so what's your experience with Bruntsfield...

Sunshinebright, I know a couple of kids at Balgreen. They are doing well. It's a much more mixed catchment area than Roseburn and the teaching is good they say. A lot of emphasis on pastoral care for the kids and my friends say the head teacher is very good. I also know a couple of kids at Carrick Knowe. There are 3 classes in P1 at Carrick Knowe this year, each with 20 kids in it I think. Again, mixed catchment area but the parents of the kids I know are very pleased with the teaching and the school generally. A few issues with the After-School club but that's run by a private company I think, not the school. All the kids (at both schools) are happy at school and doing well. My son is at Fox Covert ND and is very happy there. Small school, though getting bigger because another school close by was closed by the council due to falling rolls and because they are building a lot of new housing almost next to the school. They are appointing a new head teacher soon so will be interesting to see what changes that brings. It's a nice, small school and I'm glad he's there. It shares a site with a Roman Catholic school which I hear is just as good. But this year a lot of the schools are bursting at the seams because schools have been closed and there are a lot of kids around (I looked at the birth figures a while back and does appear to have been a bit of a baby boom in Edinburgh in the last 5\6 years). My son's class has 25 in it and I don't know if they'd take anyone else but you'd need to speak to the council about that. Anyway, good luck. Hope you get somewhere for your daughter. It you can, it might be worth having a look at Balgreen to see what you think.

Nicnic-mine is p1 bruntsfield. I've only had one terms experience but so far ok. Got a very good rep despite the building falling down. Loads going on afterschool club wise and events etc. Mine does breakfast and afterschool club and loves them -the staff there are young but great with the kids-seem to have a real rapport with them. It's quite big -3 x p1 classes and I think composite is coming when he starts p2. About 450 kids in total but as I say it's got very good results.

All interesting about Watsons and Herriots. However, what are the state primary schools like. I was looking at to moving into the Colinton area, and I know Bonaly is good, but am not sure about St marks, Colinton Primary or Oxgangs.

Bonaly is supposed to be excellent as is St marks - my friends son is P1 there and there is something like 10 kids in his class. Don't know much about colinton primary but not heard anything bad on oxgangs.

Sandwichmum and Groovee,thank you so much for all your help. I'll definitely look into Balgreen and Roseburn.

Colinton Primary has a low roll which changes often due to most children being Army children who obviously move on. The head is very good. But it put my friend off as to how small it is. I think it could be in danger of closing to be honest as the council only agreed not to close anymore schools until 2012. Oxgangs gets a mixed feedback off my friends but others I know who go to Pentland are happy. St Marks is quite popular too in my mum's street up there.

I know this is an old thread, but just thought I'd mention Edinburgh Steiner School in Spylaw Road (Merchiston area) for anyone looking for a good school in Edinburgh. In fact, it came out second best last year of all the schools in Scotland, based on academic results. It is a small, friendly school, with high academic standards and so much more to offer (crafts, arts, music etc) and a very friendly, international community. My son now has an English accent after joining the Kindergarten there, so anyone English need not fear bullying! It is also cheaper than most other independent schools.

Hi there, We are moving to murieston near Livingston. I am not sure about the school. We are moving to bellway at Laurel park. Our catchment area covers Williamston primary school and bellsqarry. I have seen kids in the new builds. Can anyone help me to find out which school is the best for placing the application.

Regards
Vicy

Hi @VJoseph, you might have figured it out by now, but you're in catchment for Williamston. The catchments don't overlap. Don't know if you're moving to Scotland or just unfamiliar but typically each address has one non-denominational and one Catholic primary. If you want your child to attend elsewhere, that's an out of catchment application. Scotsnet board gets more traffic these days than the Edinburgh board. Links to catchment maps below.

bellsquarryprimary.westlothian.org.uk/media/3960/Bellsquarry-Primary-School-Catchment-Area-Map-PDF-Download-/pdf/CatchmentArea12.pdf?m=637019966814370000

williamstonprimary.westlothian.org.uk/media/4754/Williamston-Primary-School-Catchment-Area-Map-PDF-Download-/pdf/CatchmentArea4.pdf?m=637021511733330000