Scottish school placing requests

[Gibby44]

Aarrggh - please tell me we are not the only family who have put their life on hold waiting to find out whether or not our primary school placing request has been successful !!!!!!

Our DS is due to start school in August and we won't know until end of April where we stand. School cannot give us any info.

Anyone been through this ???

This is on the wrong board - it needs to be in education?

Common practice in Scotland. We don't have catchment areas so you can pick what school you want your child to go to.

Inscotland - are you sure we don't have cathment areas in Scotland? We certainly do here!

Children from the catchment area who have siblings already at the school get priority, then children from the catchment with no siblings at the school, then non-catchment children with siblings already at the school, then non-catchment children with no siblings at the school.

I agree - it's a bloody nightmare. I've been through it twice, and am not looking forward to going through it again with DC3.

We have catchment areas in Edinburgh and if you live in the catchment then your DC gets into the school - end of.

My Ds1 goes to a non-catchment school and we didn't hear until after the Easter (he started in the August.)

We are keeping fingers crossed that DS2 will get a place in 2010.

Where about are you in Scotland?

I'm in north lanarkshire and we have catchment areas. Had to put in a placement request for both of them to attend the school they go to, as, although it is only 5 mins walk away we were not in the catchment area. Agree it is a nightmare waiting to find out if they get in or not.

(the school we are in the catchment for is 15 mins walk away)

We don't have catchments in Fife. You can request to put your child into whatever school you want in Scotland though - catchment or not.

Our local primary is ok but there is no way if we are living where we do that my little boy will be going to the nearest high school.

No, inscotland, I can absolutely assure you that all schools have catchments. A catchment is an area around the school, designated by the local authority.

The assumption is that if you live in the catchment area, your child will go to that school. If you want your child to go to another school, you have to put in a formal placing request to the Education Authority.

If you are in any doubt as to which school's catchment you are in, you can phone the authority and ask.

Sorry - should have explained further. The school I am in the catchment area for is not my first choice - don't mean to sound snobbish but hey - you want the best and if you don't ask you don't get !! I had to register DS in the catchment area school incase he doesn't get the placement.