High School questions

[susanjc9]

We are considering a move to Glasgow from the US and trying to find the right school for our daughter who is 14 and would be going into 9th grade in the US and S3 in Scotland.

Over here the schools have honors classes and regular, so the disruptive students take the regular classes. My daughter is very bright, gets straight A's. Are the state or private schools like this in Scotland?

She feels like she stands out because she is bright but is not nerdy. She is not really sporty (she figure skates on a synchronized skating team but will not continue if we move) and likes drama, music and dance.

Do smarter kids get picked on in state schools? My husband says when he was in school they did but that was a long time ago. We just want to find the right school where she can feel comfortable doing well in school. If she went to a state school it would probably be Hyndland or Hillhead.

Ask MNQH for this thread to moved from here to the Scotsnet section in chat or just post thread again there yourself. Mumsnet Local Glasgow page has very little passing traffic so you might wait a while for a response.

Tumbleweed....... see what I mean?

There's a lot more activity over on Scotsnet - you'll find it in talk (other stuff) section from memory and there are regular posters there who will have the local school info you need.

Hyndland and Hillhead are solidly middle class schools. Plenty of academic parents etc. I wouldn't expect a particular problem with bright kids being bullied. Classes start getting streamed around S3.

Children are expected to take part in the life of the school and to mix with and relate to a range of peers. To speak frankly, your post reads a little like you don't want your daughter to associate with less able children, or with children with behavioural difficulties. Important to keep an open mind, I feel. Children of all abilities can be bullies, and children of all abilities have something to offer their peers.

I hope your move, if you make it, goes well.

Yes Hillhead and hyndland are good schools. I'd say Hillhead's 0puoils come from a wider sociology-economic background, there is a higher proportion of children on free school meals for example than at Hyndland and certainly at the Gaelic School which is solidly middle class with virtually no children on free school meals.

You child would do well at both schools, there are many bright and able children attending them. As for bullying - well that can go on anywhere whether state or private.

There are private schools and also some excellent state schools. The league tables are usually quite indicative if your children are academically minded.

All of the in demand schools have very strict catchments which restrict where you live in order to gain access to the school. I have no idea of your budget- but this is definitely something to bear in mind whilst looking.

Are you planning on working in the city centre or do you have a commute?

Glasgow City proper is quite small, but there are lots of satellite neighbourhoods that have their own pros and cons.

As an alternative to the West End, Southside is often touted. It's the 'new' West end. League table wise- the schools are not achieving as many results due to mixed demographics but do have instances of their pupils going to Oxbridge.

East Renfrewshire is just outside of Glasgow, its schools regularly top the league tables. It is quite suburban in some areas - Newton Mearns is a bit too twee for me but I like Clarkston, Busby and some areas of Giffnock. They have a nice community vibe and it's very academic-centric.

Some smart kids might get picked on in state schools but they're not getting picked on for being smart. The race for results is competitive.

Also if she does want to carry on figure skating there are teams based in the area. Braehead and East Kilbride are both about 20 minutes drive from city centre and have rinks.

There's lots of drama/dance groups etc, not all schools are equal in this regard if it's something she is interested in taking up- it would definitely be worth visiting a handful of schools to see what they offer.

Ds' school (on the Southside ) has pupils going to Oxbridge/into medicine/vet science/law most years. Slightly fewer going to Oxbridge now because of university fees needing to be paid in England - but there is one going this year anyway (she may have an athletics scholarship too)

It is a very mixed demographic though - which it is proud of - from children of millionaires to kids who literally don't know where the next meal is going to come from.

Definitely no problem with bullying of clever kids (ds is one of them ) While I am sure there are individual instances of kids being bullied for whatever reason - the school will come down on hard if brought to their attention. It encourages diversity and a holistic approach to turn out rounded individuals - whether that be, in addition to the academic subjects, sport, music, art, gymnastics....

It over-perfoms against "expectation" (a calculation based in part? on SIMD - Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation) for every level except the bottom 20% - where it slightly underperforms (but is working on) - but I don't think in your case that would be an issue because your dd is clever.

Most schools "set" (as in categorise according to ability) for at least English and Maths (and sometimes other subjects - although as you go through the school years, this happens almost inevitably through the exam choices made) at some point. At ds' school, they do this for Maths and English from S1 (Maths about 4 weeks after starting S1 as it is easy to establish through tests, English after the October Week). However, if a pupil does/doesn't perform well, they will be moved up/down a set.

As MintChoc says, you'll probably get more of a response if you post on the Scotsnet board.

Hi Auntie Matter,

I didn't mean it to sound like my daughter does want to associate with less able children. It is more to do with the pace/difficulty with the course. She gets bored if the pace is too slow and enjoys being challenged. The only time kids bother her is if they are disruptive and disrespectful to the teachers.

We are considering a move back to Glasgow from India. My daughter who is going to be 15 in June will start S4 there. She had done her P1and P2 in Glasgow before we moved back to India in 2010.
She is a bright and quiet child. Plays classical Piano and also is good at swimming and Taekwondo. She has a flair for writing and painting.

What are the possibilities to get admission in a good state school in S4? We will plan to rent an accommodation in a good school catchment area.

Thanks very much.

Hey Susan,

How are you getting on in your research?

Scotland's fab so it's brilliant you're thinking of coming here. Have you a sense whereabouts in Scotland you'll move to?

Every child resident here is entitled to free education at state school but there is the option of paying to go to a private school. It's personal choice.

There's a great focus on wellbeing just now in Scottish state schools which is great as there is no guarantee of avoiding bullying by going to particular schools, BUT teachers are getting really good at matching students with a friendship group and are aware of the challenges your daughter may have from a social perspective.

It's worth contacting the schools directly to find out how to get admitted. For state schools, you need to be in their catchment area, which means living locally but you can miss out on catchment by a street so it's important to find that out in advance. For example, I'm not in the catchment area for a school that is a 10 minute walk from my house.

Exams are taken in S4 and the subject matter starts being studied from S3 (the kids choose the subjects they'll study in S2) so for kids joining within this time I reckon (but don't know) the schools will have to assess what the young person has studied before and see what transfers over. Another reason for getting in touch sooner than you think may be necessary.

Wishing you all the best in whatever you decide xx