Primary 1 application (Edinburgh)

[Abbybear]

Hi everyone,

Apologies in advance for the lengthy post!

My husband and I are currently living in Hong Kong and our eldest daughter is in K2 (4 years old). We are planning on moving back to the UK (Edinburgh) next year. We can only completely move back around June, 2017. This is past the cut-off for Primary 1 application. We were planning on renting a place in Stockbridge (Stockbridge Primary would be our preferred school) before the deadline for the local catchment area requirements, but not actually moving in until we come over in June.

Is this a feasible plan? We are worried that we won’t be able to prove that we are living in the area (because we won’t be!) and even if we were to lie and just say we are living there, once they ask about our daughter’s nursery/previous schooling, they will easily see that we’re still in Hong Kong.

Has anyone been through a similar situation? Any tips or advice?

Thanks millions in advance!

They can't hold a place for you I'm afraid, so you may well move and then find your preferred school doesn't have a place. On the other hand, it could work out fine. You will probably find that school are very open with you, ie they'll let you know how many places are free and will be happy for you to keep in touch (within reason).

You have to have a copy of your council tax bill when you apply iirc, so there's no way you could lie about your address. But why would you want to? Most of the primary schools in Edinburgh are really good. They are also all fairly close, so if you end up at the next school along it shouldn't be that much of a trek. There's also a lot of movement during the year so it may well be that a place comes up later on, of course by then you may not want to disrupt Dd.

Assume moving yourself and the DC earlier isn't feasible? It's a nice school and try calling them to discuss. Based on the last years though, it's definitely over-subscribed so you want to have a council tax bill showing you're in catchment for the relevant timeframe.

Once the OP starts renting a flat, won't she also need to start paying council tax on it? I'm not sure how that works. But if she does pay, then she's have a bill to use to enroll?

You're right of course Buck - I didn't read it properly. Still think honesty is the best policy though. Is Flora's full too, does anyone know?

Is it definitely a p1 place you are looking for? P1 is always a tricky one as numbers are capped. If your dd is 4 now, she wil be 5 next year, what month is her birthday? That will decide whether it is a p1 or p2 place you need.