Primary Schools in Inverness

[londonhater]

Hello everyone.
We are planning to move to Inverness for work (I’ll be at Raigmore, husband in the centre) within the next year or so. We have a 4 year old who will be starting school here in London in September.
Having looked at all the schools in the Highlands, it’s clear barely any have inspection reports and school guide doesn’t show good stats.
Do any of you have kids who go to Primaries in Inverness ? What are the top schools ?
I may have an option to chose Aberdeen but my heart is bent on Inverness (sigh!)..so I wanted to make sure there was some good schooling prior to the big move.
We will be renting initially and then will buy in the next 3-4 years. Husband doesn’t want a big commute so we are hoping to stick to the city (although I could try and convince him if there are better schools/housing within 3-5 miles of Inverness.
Thank you in advance !

Hi, the first thing to remember is that school admissons work differently in Scotland.

Children start school at/closer to 5 and, in most circumstances, you go to your catchment school. It is possible to put in a placing request but there is no guarantee. The cut off date for school admissions is March/April time so depending on your child's age, they may not start until next year.

HMIE are woefully behind with inspections so you won't find much info there. Plus, it's not really the best way to judge a school IMO.
There are some very good schools in Inverness though, I imagine you'd probably want to start looking in the Crown or Milton of Leys catchment areas but there are others too. Schools in Scotland aren't graded against each other so there aren't really 'top schools' as such although there are obviously some which are more highly regarded.

Highland starts back on the 19th August so you could give a few schools a ring from them to get some more info.

Thank you unexpectedthird, that’s very helpful.
Any particular schools to avoid ?
Sorry, just thought I’d ask since very new to the area.

You may get more replies if youpost in Scotnet ( in other stuff subsection)

But I agree, most primaries in Inverness are good. You may want to think about catchments for secondaries too in the long run.

Pm’d You

Wee sister lives outside Inverness, the primary school in their village is excellent lots of activities. Look and see if the school have their own website. Much better life up there.

Inverness is a lovely city to live in. My dad went to the Crown and I see it is still considered a good school. The school I went to is no longer there.I think most of the schools are good to be honest. As said children in Scotland are five when they start school.It might be wise to ring and check birthdates with he Education Authority.

Raigmore hospital is an excellent hospital. Inverness is much nicer than Aberdeen and not as cold as the Moray Firth is on the Gulf Stream. Do visit the Islands when you go for a visit. Your little one will love it.
Drive along the coast to Nairn, Findhorn and Lossiemouth for beautiful, soft, sandy beaches. The Highland Wildlife Park at Carrbridge is a great place for kids too.