Anyone with recent experience of Tollcross, Sciennes or James Gillespie Primary Schools

[Magicpixiee]

Hi
We're moving through to Edinburgh in the new year and need to decide on what catchment to buy in. Does anybody have any recent experience of any of the above schools- I hear quite a lot about Sciennes and JG but not much about Tollcross (have read all of the HMIE reports but some of them are quite old now)
Also, the only council nursery I can find in the area seems to be at JGs- am I missing something?!

My friend moved both her children to Tollcross last year and highly praises the school. Her Dd had a terrible experience at her last school but their pastoral care has been exceptional.

I think Tollcross has a nursery and it's Tollcross Early Years Campus which incorporates the nursery. The Grassmarket or Cowgate are close by too. But there is a lack of council nursery places in that area. I used to work in a private nursery up that way and we often had children for their ante preschool place and sometimes preschool place if they didn't get a council nursery place.

My wee one is at Gillespies - I really like the school and think the head is fantastic. Both Sciennes and JGPS are bursting at the seams though!

Hi. Sorry to jump onto this thread but I also recently moved to Edinburgh (two weeks ago!) and whilst my older DD is starting at Gillespie's I am still to sort out childcare for my 3 year old. Did you have any joy finding out more information or have you visited any private nurseries? Any tips much appreciated!

They're all good schools but we have had both our DD's at Tollcross and think it's fantastic (DD1 just started at James Gillespies High School) It's a nice size, staff are excellent and they're very good at helping newcomers settle as they get more than their fair share of children moving to the school from other parts of the UK or other countries. It's a much more multicultural school than Sciennes and Gillespies and has a greater mix of children from different socioeconomic backgrounds due to the catchment area being more mixed in it's affordability with a mix of social and private housing. That's been a really positive thing for us but I think it's why Tollcross is often seen as a poor relation to the other two. The other two are also great but I always like to do a bit if Tollcross PR when I can!

Came on to put in a good word for Tollcross but you guys got in there first. Gillespies and Sciennes have good reputations too. We moved to Edinburgh when DS was in P2,. We're really glad he's at Tollcross, it's a very friendly, inclusive school.