any opinions on portobello?

[sevenyearoldsarecrazy]

does the high school have a good reputation? would it be a nice place to live? any downsides?

We used to live there, but left in 1998, so I may be a bit out of date. Back then the High School had a good rep for teaching, but the fabric of the building was in need of renewal; this may have been done. Porty itself was a fantastic place to live, real "small town" community feeling, with Princes Street about a 15 minute bus ride away. Lots of independent shops that were still going last time I dropped by, an excellent deli and prize-winning butcher, a brilliant hardware shop with knowlegable staff. Two chemists, one independent plus Boots, local greengrocer and fish merchant.

And there are lovely parks to walk in, and of course miles of beautiful sandy beaches to enjoy in all weathers.

High school not great. Not the worst but they have their share of troublemakers. They're getting a new building soon but that won't change the intake.

Portobello itself is nice, with lots of shops and good facilities for kids (pool, library etc). Can be rough at night, but then so can most places in Scotland I think!

ah. got all excited by first reply but the second confirmed my suspicions about the school. bummer!

Pretty much any high school is going to have it's share of trouble-makers, though. I seem to recall there's also a Catholic secondary, can't remember the name, but it was popular with Muslims.

i know, i know! i just want the safest bet as i can't imagine my pfb - who is currently ten-surviving high school at the moment. am not muslim or catholic...

The secondary school I sent my two ds's to was considerably rougher than Porty (ds1 was due to start but we moved over the summer) and they both survived it. Try spending some time (if you can) in Porty High Street at lunchtime, you'll see lots of their pupils and can get a "feel" for them yourself.

And yes, they do look small and vulnerable at 10, and you can't imagine how they'll survive the scrum. Even when they first arrive at high school they look tiny next to the hulking great teenagers. And a year later, they're cock of the walk.

I have really good memories of raising my boys in Porty, and if there was any way to change the past, I'd still be living there.

It does sound a lovely place to live. My kids really don't want to move though so I am worrying about them blaming me in the future if they hate the school! Hanging out there to get a feel for the place sounds a good plan though, cheers.

I like Porty - walks by the water, nice bar and cafe at either end of the beach. The school is truly comprehensive but that new building is very, very badly needed. Mix of housing types - modern and period flats overlooking the water, quite large Victorian houses once lived in by seafarers and prosperous business people. Some of the promenade area is run down but this seems to add to its charm. Refurb of the area is way off now, since the downturn.

There's also easy access to the Edinburgh ring road, you can be in the countryside within half an hour. All those gorgeous small towns in East Lothian with beautiful beaches!

Evidence of it having a good community ethos is that they managed to fend off Tesco! It's almost unheard of, but they did. Which is why they still have all those fantastic small businesses.

Think I'll visit tomorrow. Can get my stocking fillers there as an excuse.

Excellent idea. Please report back that my memories remain sound. :)

Its a great place and friends who have 2 at the High School are very happy with it. The new building is needed, the current one seems to be closed whenever there is a high wind

Well I do know parents who are happy with Porty High (not sure what their children think), but I also know parents - and children - who are not happy with it but the parents feel they have no other realistic choice.

Do you know why they are not happy with it?

Without getting into personal details, bullying, bad classroom behaviour, low academic expectations (not sure TBH if this oriiginates with the teaching staff or the students' attitudes). Might depend on your child's personality - I know parents who have sent one child there but not another as they thought the child (usually the shyer, quieter, more serious ones) wouldn't cope.

Sent you a message with some personal comments...

Had flying visit but not enough time to check anything out! Some beautiful buildings and nice parks but didn't visit the shops. Have been put off a bit by the school stuff though. Maybe it's high schools in general.

My eldest is in S2 and seems to be ok there.
He says worrying things like they don't learn anything until S 3 as they seem to be bringing pupils up to the same level and ds1 was in top set at primary for maths. But I don't know how much of this to believe. It would help if I'd made it into parents evening last year to actually speak to his teachers.

Ds1 is fairly laid back and has best friend is in s5 so he's always had someone he knew there. I had a mum tell me that her sons start at school was better for being in the same classes as ds1. This amused me as I gather from ds1 that being in the same class is the only thing they in common.

The new school was due to start being worked on, but they've got another legal wrangle to get through against people trying to save the park from being built on. This is despite overwhelming approval from the parents/locals. It's a waiting game. Hoping it'll be sorted by the time ds2 starts, but at the moment it keeps ds1 fit having to go up and down stairs between lessons.

We were in catchment for portobello and holyrood (catholic) and I got the impression I could have opted for either despite not being catholic. Holyrood has recently been rebuilt, but I don't know anything about its reoutation.

Still has a great butchers shop Finlays in the High Street , a fishmonger, lovely wee shop called Cove, organic shop in Windsor Place, organic market in Brighton Park 1st Sat of every month, great vet in High St, several banks, several takeaways, rowing/sailing club
A lot of parks, check out the walkway in Figgate Park
THE BEACH
Hogmanay along the Prom is better than Princes St. Its free, there's bonfires , music and people walk along looking for friends old and new
Could do with a Tesco
but is within easy reach of Lidl, Aldi or Teso at Musselburgh or Asda at the Jewel, Morrisons at Piershill. There's a Scotmid in Bath Street.

Like any other Secondary I know people who were happy with their children going there and others that were set against it. It got a green eco flag 3 times The building is well past its best . Once the NIMBYs loose their doubtful legal challenge rebuilding will go ahead for new school
HolyRood High is also in the catchment, not long rebuilt on site

Thanks for all the info. Unfortunately we are still suffering from fear of the unknown! Would def move there if schools weren't a consideration I think.

Used to work at Porty (not a teacher and in the early '00s). It's a very big school, lots of pupils so possibly less individual attention from guidance staff, fabric of the building wasn't great. Biggish classes, but much the same as other high schools.

cant give an opinion on portobello high but..

you dont have to be catholic to apply to holyrood, its a smaller school and the discipline bit stricter, higher standards expected, my younger brother just left 6th year and went on to university like a lot of his friends says he wishes he had another year, he really enjoyed it and got on well with teachers,

i went to a different school left 6 years ago but there were rough kids, trouble etc at my school too, even the private schools in edinburgh have problems with drugs bullying behavior etc

If you want to be close to the sea, I would recommend the Royal High catchment area rather than Portobello. Portobello High School is not fit for purpose. If you saw the girls toilets you would understand why girls go home to use the toilets at lunchtime instead of using them at school. There is no way I would want my children being educated in a school in such a poor condition. It's freezing in some parts in winter. And it doesn't feel clean to me. Cramond is a lovely place to live. And parts of Barnton are nice too.

Crammond lovely but not if you want an actual beach. What stops me living in Portobello is the housing stock (mostly flats as far as I can see, lovely but not what I want) and the very tight parking!
If you don't like the local school, you can of course put a placing request in for another school.