Is it better to change school when at primary or when moving to secondary?

[mantra101]

Hello
We are moving to East Craigs area soon, my son is currently in P5. Initially I was going to keep him in his current primary school until he finishes primary education and then start a "new chapter" with new school. However I have been advised that it may not be such a good idea to go to a high school, without knowing anyone, being a teenager etc. I am not from Scotland myself, so I am very confused at the moment and, and I wonder if you can share your view/ experience.
My son is not bursting with confidence in new places. He's not vey shy either, but rather quiet.
The catchment area schools are East Craigs primary and Craigmount High school.
Thank you

I'd definitely move him during primary school. We moved to Edinburgh for my son starting high school but decided to arrive in May so that he could do a couple of months of P7 before starting S1 in August. He's now in S2 and still friends with the boys he met in those couple of months of primary. He has other friends now too but the transition to high school can be scary for them so it's definitely much easier if they have some friends already. There are also usually transition days at the end of P7, where the kids spend a few days at the high school getting used to things. He may still be able to do this if not in the catchment primary but it would probably be a bit more complicated to organise.

I moved schools a lot my advice is especially as he is only p5 is move him now. I moved to a school in p5 and by the time I moved up to the big school it's like I had always been there.

That gives him 2 years to get to know the children he will be moving up to high school with and feel settled into the local area with the children who live close (playing, walking to school etc)

Moving up to high school can be hard for kids anyway but I think for me it would have been even harder (harder than when I had to move primary schools) to move without knowing a single person who was going to be there because it's a really awkward age. You do drift into natural friendship groups eventually that may or may not include the kids you knew from primary but in the first couple of weeks the kids you do know are the anchowhile you get used to the new environment.

Thanks for the advice guys; it's reassuring to know that pretty much everyone agrees that I should his school now. Thanks