Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Local

Find conversations happening in your area in our local chat rooms.

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

possibly moving to Edinburgh, looking for advice

51 replies

seattleite1 · 11/03/2015 21:09

Hello,

I apologize that this is mainly another school and neighborhood question. I've read back thru many of the posts and found them really helpful but still want to confirm that I'm understanding it all!

My DH is looking at a job in Edinburgh that would see us move there at the end of June. His job would be in, what I think, is the city center (it's "the old Scotsman in Holyrood" is all I know right now). He's going to be travelling there on the 30th so I will know more after he actually gets to visit the city!

We have 3 boys who will be ages 13, 11 & 11 when we move. If I've understood the schools correctly they will be going into S2 & P7. (we are American and here they would be going into 8th and 6th grade). We want to live in the city so that we can either have no car or 1 car.

My main concern is, it seems that even if we rent in the catchment area that we will not automatically get a place in the area school. Especially since we won't be there until very late and after all assignments are completed.

There seem to be many good choices and the main areas we are looking at are: Craigmount, James Gillespie, Boroughmuir. I realize these are some of the top schools and just wondering if we have a prayer of getting a spot at such a late date? It seems like Currie, Balerno and Firrhill are also good but these are farther from DH work. He's desperate for an easy and short commute after many years of spending 2 hours a day in the car!

I'm not as concerned for my younger 2 (twins) because they only have 1 year of primary left and I figure we can deal with anything for a year (although, if they got assigned to separate schools that might be really hard!) And, it seems that if older DS got a spot in our area catchment (or, at least an out of catchment school that we like) that the sibling rule would help get spots for the younger 2 when they enter S1?

Edinburgh looks like such a beautiful city and we would love the opportunity to live there but I'm freaking out a little at the possibility that my kids will end up at 3 different schools in completely different neighborhoods from where we live.

Thanks for any advice!
Holly

OP posts:

Shinytangerine · 13/03/2015 21:01

That's the one! Dh is quite excited about the move to the new offices, should be pretty nice I think.

Edinburgh is a lovely place to live, loads for families to do, and lots to do for couples too, we love it here.

Pm me if I can help with anything?

Original poster

seattleite1 · 14/03/2015 16:20

Thanks for the address, SC, look like it's close to where I had thought it was!

Shiny, that would be great. DH is going over there from 28th-2nd (at least I think this was the schedule) so I won't know until sometime after that whether they offer him a job. Fingers crossed!

If we don't end up moving I think we're just going to have to go back on a vacation!

OP posts:

angelsteeds · 18/03/2015 01:05

Hi Corstorphine is a lovely area about 3 miles west of city center. It has a village feel to it and tons of history! Craigmount High is the secondary school here and my 3 kids all went there.
The thing i like about here is its got a great community feel and fantastic transport links ie buses, trams and very close to airport, M8 and city bypass. Good local shops and the Gyle shopping mall close by.

coffeeCamelCase · 20/03/2015 13:03

By the way, your initial comments on schools sound as though you may possibly have been listening to stories from England and assuming the apply. Be aware that the education system in Scotland is completely different.

coffeeCamelCase · 20/03/2015 13:03

the -> they

StiffGandT · 25/03/2015 16:15

Primary schools tend to be oversubscribed in the younger years but you shouldn't have problems finding 2 P7 places.

lakewyola · 31/03/2015 17:13

Hi seattleite1
I am also relocating to Edinburgh from the US this summer (Massachusetts) and was considering Broughton HS for my two teens (14 and 16). Just wondering if you had got any further in your plans and what you had discovered along the way!
I'm feeling a little stressed as I spoke to Broughton yesterday to be told there was no space in my son's year. I've posted a separate thread on this forum to seek advice.

Original poster

seattleite1 · 31/03/2015 19:46

Hi Lakewyola,

We've been spinning our wheels a bit. DH is over in the UK now, he has done his Edinburgh interview and is now down in England interviewing with another place. So, we don't even know for sure yet if we will be moving... or exactly where. I've just been trying to be prepared and check things out in advance.

Now I'm nervous again! He loved Edinburgh so I hope once we have a decision we can make it work. There were a couple different schools we were interested in but I was waiting to contact them until I knew for sure we'd be going. Guess I will make some calls tomorrow and see if there are openings before we decide.

My kids are a bit younger so maybe that will make a difference?

btw, I've been in Seattle since 2000... but I'm from Malden, MA just north of Boston!

OP posts:

lakewyola · 31/03/2015 20:38

It's hard playing the waiting game isn't it seattleite1!
You may well have better luck looking at the younger years. Worth making some calls though.
We live in Western Mass (near Amherst-where my kids currently go to school). I've been out to Seattle a few times...love it!
I hope you'll post your progress here. I'd love to hear how you get on!

Original poster

seattleite1 · 31/03/2015 20:54

I went to school at UMass! Lived in Amherst for 4 years :-) Then my DH went to grad school there and we lived in Northampton. I love western MA!

I'm following your other thread as well. So great to be able to get advice from locals!

OP posts:

lakewyola · 31/03/2015 21:48

How funny!! It is a great area! We will miss it for sure but it's time to get back to Scotland! I'll let you know how we get on we the school situation!

royalbyapp · 20/11/2015 01:09

Hi
We are another family moving back to the UK after 20 years in the States and have decided on Edinburgh as our home town - where I was born...I am really overwhelmed with everything I have to do and was hoping for some advice on what you found when you arrived - I have an 8 year old boy 17 and 24 year old daughters - I am looking for primary and secondary schools and also job recruitment agencies for my older daughter. We would need to rent first in order to build up credit in order to buy. I am excited but scared at the same time - Please any help or advise would be much appreciated

royalbyapp · 20/11/2015 01:11

coffeeCamelCase · 20/11/2015 15:38

Your most pressing issue would seem to be your younger daughter: very hard to see how a 17yo from the US education system could move midyear into a Scottish school (it'd be her Advanced Higher year, if she'd still be at school at all). Can she not somehow finish her school education in the US? What does she want to do next?

royalbyapp · 20/11/2015 16:25

Hi Coffeecamelcase,

Thank you for responding - unfortunately that is not an option - She still has 2.5 years of high school left. She needs to come with us. I thought she could do 6th year so she could make friends and get used to the Scottish system or if not then I wouild need to look at colleges for her. She is looking at becoming a vet or something to do with animals. I heard that Bruntsfield Primary and Boroughmuir High are good schools and in the same catchment area. I am open to suggestions as I would prefer to get the school thing sorted so then I can look for accommodations. Any advise or information you can pass on would really be appreciated. Even though I was born in Edinburgh I was brought up in Glasgow so really do not know Edinburgh at all. Thanks in advance

catdil · 20/11/2015 18:32

A lot will depend on your budget and property preferences tbh. The schools you mention are good but the property prices and availability therefore reflect that! If it is four bedroom place you are looking for your options will be quiet limited in this catchment unless you have loads of money. A lot of the catchment is flats rather than houses.

For your eldest daughter I would start with having a look on s1jobs.com. Does she have any idea what she wants to do?

coffeeCamelCase · 20/11/2015 18:47

I'll try, but I'm confused by your situation! It might be that your best bet is to ring Edinburgh City Council and ask them. here is a page to read first, and if you're not familiar with the Scottish education system, this wikipedia article might also be useful.

In Scotland, placement into a school year is done by age. People enter S6, the final year of school, in August between the ages of 16.5 and 17.5 (in the case of someone with deferred entry to P1, they might be a few months older: but not as old as 18, because even with maximum deferral - the kind you only get by negotiation in the case of a child who is agreed to need it, not by parental choice - you wouldn't be 6 on entering P1). Depending on her birthday, your DD might very well already have been too old to enter S6 in August 2015, and it seems most unlikely she'd be allowed to enter S6 in August 2016, unless there's some kind of special deal for people coming from abroad, which I wouldn't know about. (I don't understand how a 17yo can have 2.5 years of high school left in the US system either, though... I'm confused.)

But even if it were possible to get funded for it, would there really be much point of doing S6 to make friends and get to know the Scottish system? It would be her last year of the Scottish system and the friends would be about to scatter. That's before you think about the difficulty of jumping straight into AH courses without having done the corresponding Higher courses; if she's covered almost all the material of the Higher courses in the US (but is that compatible with having 2.5 years of high school to go?) and is very bright, it might work, but it doesn't sound like fun.

Training to be a vet is extremely competitive academically. For example, here is the University of Edinburgh's page on it.

3nationedinburgh · 23/11/2015 15:37

For your 17 year old, I think somewhere like Edinburgh College would better suit her requirements than joining a standard school environment - they have options designed to suit students coming from abroad and wanting to feed into the UK system www.edinburghcollege.ac.uk/international/courses/courses.aspx

3nationedinburgh · 23/11/2015 15:40

This course might be of interest www.edinburghcollege.ac.uk/courses/vet.aspx

Mommakingx3 · 14/12/2015 12:28

We have also just moved to Edinburgh from the States and my children are 9, 10, and 13 years old. I am trying to sort out schools for them at the moment as they will start school after the Christmas holiday. We currently live in Dalry but I'm not sure which schools are better than others, even after much research. Anyone have recommendations on schools, how to help kids adjust, etc? Thanks in advance! :)

Eman83 · 14/12/2015 13:24

Hello and welcome to Edinburgh! Are you doing the state or private route for education?

Mommakingx3 · 16/12/2015 13:44

Thank you! We will most likely start out in state education simply because my children will be starting in January (mid-term). I have been trying to research all the different possibilities but it is extremely overwhelming! Any advice is definitely welcomed! :)

Mommakingx3 · 16/12/2015 13:48

We haven't yet decided which route to take since my children will be starting mid-year. Most likely we will end up in state education to begin.

Eman83 · 16/12/2015 18:01

What area are you looking at?

Mommakingx3 · 16/12/2015 21:46

We are currently in the Dalry area

Flip

1 2 3