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Original poster

Area's in Edinburgh

24 replies

NewToFamilyLife2015 · 08/03/2015 17:25

Evening All,

Sorry new poster here so please excuse me if I break any forum rules. My wife and I are currently in the process of moving from a city centre flat to our first family home.

One of the areas we are considering is Craigentinny as it keeps us close to town but would allow us a 3/4 bedroom house with a garden, plus I love 1930 architecture.

Anyway as I know very little about areas other than very central I was hoping you would all be kind enough to give me your thoughts on Craigentinny, namely

--->1) The good parts and bad parts (Specific streets would be great)
--->2) The quality of the schools near by (future planning ;-)
--->3) What your view of the area as a whole is

Thanks in advance

OP posts:

Eman83 · 08/03/2015 21:18

Have you thought about Duddingston? Schools are good in that area and lovely village feel

Original poster

NewToFamilyLife2015 · 09/03/2015 09:48

Hi Eman83,

We had considered Duddingston. Unfortunately it is a little out of our price range for a 4 bedroom with garden. It was actually a friend who suggested that we look a Criagentinny as it was close to duddingston (certainly on a map anyway) and that it was still a nice area.

Any further thoughts?

OP posts:

Datec · 09/03/2015 12:37

It is on the fringe of portobello and not far from town with good bus links but the schools wouldn't be my first choice unless you went RC as holyrood is fantastic. Craigintinny ps has good hard working staff but the demographic is very mixed. Leith academy is a good school good staff but again you are going to get the odd bam. Tbh, having spent a long time looking into houses and areas and schools if you can get a four bed house with a garden in edinburgh for less than £300000k it's worth checking the school catchment to question why, unless it's a do-er upper.

Datec · 09/03/2015 12:40

That said there are some lovely places for well under that out there.. Just depends what you are looking for from an area or how far out you want to go.

Original poster

NewToFamilyLife2015 · 11/03/2015 11:17

Thank you so much for the detailed reply Datec. That's really helpful. Stupid question but what does RC stand for?

Thanks again.

OP posts:

Original poster

NewToFamilyLife2015 · 11/03/2015 11:18

Sorry just googled it and now appears obvious. Thank you.

OP posts:

angelsteeds · 18/03/2015 00:54

Corstorphines a lovely area and has good schools, also nice village feel , lots of history and great transport libks!

davidinglis · 21/04/2015 08:24

Hi DateC, sorry if I butt in here but am in the exact same position. My understanding of Edinburgh is that most catchments take in good and bad areas so Craigentinny isn't unique in that situation (please correct me.if wrong). It would be great to hear experiences from someone who has used the school.

Datec · 21/04/2015 09:37

All catchments are mixed, that's why the boundaries have been drawn so they are. I'd say it is very true though that the more 'popular' schools and areas are more expensive, as the more central you are it's more expensive. The further out you go or if you go for a less popular area then cheaper housing. I think school is a very personal thing and anyone considering a school should visit and meet the staff and children. We are all different and what feels right for each of our children is different.

StatisticallyChallenged · 21/04/2015 13:23

I don't think you can actually say that "all catchments are mixed" especially at primary level. There are schools where the entire catchment is comprised of a single (predominantly council owned) estate whereas others are solely comprised of very wealthy areas. Sometimes primary school catchments just aren't big enough to be more economically diverse. Free school meal entitlement (the easiest number to access) ranges from 2% in one school to 73% in another. Neither of those numbers suggest well mixed catchments.

Not talking about Craigentinny specifically but Edinburgh in general. The secondaries are better in terms of being mixed but there are still plenty which are not.

Datec · 21/04/2015 14:52

I think I can say it.. Catchment may be varied doesn't mean you get the parental uptake Hense the school meal figure. Of course different areas across the city will have different ecconomic diversity. Any 'estate' schools I know have new builds near by, where people opt for private or another school. I can think of a few of these schools that have specialist adl units that people opt into as they need that support. It's not all about statistics.. most certainly schools I know of in more affluent areas don't always produce the most well behaved children and young people. Every school has its downsides.. And positives.

StatisticallyChallenged · 21/04/2015 16:28

Well you can say it, but I still don't think it's accurate. I'm thinking of specific schools where I grew up which are still anything but mixed catchments - at most they might have a couple of dozen newish houses in catchment for schools with rolls of 3-400. Of course people opting to not send children to the local school is a problem if you have a newbuild estate where everyone goes private/out of catchment. But there are also very definitely schools where the catchment just does not have that mix to start with. Some catchments haven't been redesigned in a long time, and were never drawn to be mixed - they are the way they are because the council build a huge new estate in the 60s then parked a school in the middle to serve it :). Look at some of the schools in the west of the city where the boundaries haven't moved much or have only expanded because another school has closed nearby.

From what I've seen the catchments over Craigentinny direction do tend to be much better at being mixed though!

And no of course it's not all about statistics - but sometimes they can tell us a lot and that range of values shows that the primary schools aren't all that well mixed in some places. In some areas of course it becomes self perpetuating - school gets a good reputation so people flock there, houses become more expensive, catchment becomes less mixed...

Mazmack809 · 21/04/2015 16:48

Are you all suggesting that children from poorer areas make a school less good?

Mazmack809 · 21/04/2015 16:48

Can't see what else "mixed' means.

StatisticallyChallenged · 21/04/2015 16:55

Personally I wasn't suggesting it made the school better, worse or indifferent. But I would generally take someone describing a school as having a "mixed catchment" to be referring to the economic mix - I'm not sure what else it could mean really.

Mazmack809 · 21/04/2015 17:01

yes. Which i would not say is the basis a school should be judged on.

Mazmack809 · 21/04/2015 17:02

however it is not AIBU so I made my point and will leave you to it :)

StatisticallyChallenged · 21/04/2015 17:12

Just to clarify, I didn't make any point about the suitability/awesomeness/crapness of a school based on the catchment. Just said that I don't think all Edinburgh catchments are mixed.

CuriosityCola · 21/04/2015 17:14

I can understand what the poster above is saying regarding catchment areas. It's a little bit chicken and the egg. For example, Corstorphine primary has a pretty affluent catchment (it feeds into a 'good' secondary). Surrounding house prices drop significantly depending on the primary. As the primary continues to thrive the houses and flats prices rise.

I know people who live in Craigentinny and love it. The school has very active parent contribution. It's very close to portobello beach, which is fab in the summer.

Will it be handy for your work? A lot of us choose a side of Edinburgh based on commute

Athensofthenorth · 21/04/2015 20:25

I have to side with Statistically. If you look at the highest performing secondary state schools you are looking at Edinburgh South ie Boroughmuir and Gillespies. Not much diversity there, though I'm willing to be corrected. . Also Balerno ranks high

Basically, if you are able to buy a 4 bedroom house in Edinburgh for a good price and not be concerned about school catchment areas. Go for it. If not have visit the schools and have a good long think on it.

EmmaBemma · 22/04/2015 05:32

"Are you all suggesting that children from poorer areas make a school less good?"

Yes, that is what they're saying. I've seen that point made, unchallenged, on pretty much every Edinburgh school thread I've read.

Mazmack809 · 22/04/2015 07:15

Yes. Hideous snobbery, sorry.

emma12344 · 22/04/2015 09:07

Agreed. This attitude is prevalent on these threads and is a real pity for those children and families working hard and doing their best.

Datec · 22/04/2015 11:42

Woah.. Haul your high horses there... I don't think I ever said poorer areas make a school less good, if anything I was trying to highlight that across the board edinburgh has a fairly mixed demographic and doesn't suffer from the ghettos that London has. I went to one of those schools and believe me edinburgh is a world away. Ok I did say there were bams at leith academy... But there are :) I posted to be open and share my opinion as that's what they asked for. Now I admit hands aloft there are certain schools in Edinburgh I wouldn't be keen on sending my kids too.. Doesn't mean they are bad schools just not for us. If that makes me a snob.. Fair enough. Would you send your children to every school in the city without question?? Might surprise you that this list includes bourghmuir and royal high but tbf the stabbing in the canteen at royal a few years ago put me off. choosing a school and a community to live in is a huge minefield Hense why so many post on here for advice and opinions and every opinion is important when you are weighing things up.. As much as catchments aren't perfect to give the ultimate social, cultural, and ecconomic mix in every school, it's really much better than where I grew up..
Back to the main point I hope the poster got to have a chance to go and see the school and community and see what they think and if it's the right fit for them.

It's a personal choice and as I said in that price bracket of housing it buys you very different parts of the city. Enjoy the sunshine folks

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