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Welcome to Scotsnet - discuss all aspects of life in Scotland, including relocating, schools and local areas.

Original poster

Reasons why we should choose Scotland to move too?

55 replies

farflungfanny · 25/07/2015 16:23

Don't live in U,K at the moment but there is a chance Scotland may come up as a possible move. (Dh in oil industry) As long as we are near good transport links I don't mind.
I am more concerned about schools, children are 8 and 10.

Any pointers on area for good school. I am completely open to suggestions.

OP posts:
WankerDeAsalWipe · 03/08/2015 10:14

Some councils also don't dictate how many are allowed and leave it to the school to decide.

This is the last full list of academic results for all high schools, there are more recent but they tend to only cover the top 10 or 20.
news.stv.tv/scotland/206580-school-league-tables-breakdown-of-every-scottish-school/

StaceyAndTracey · 03/08/2015 23:22

Point of information - Some schools do up to 9 National 5s

WankerDeAsalWipe · 04/08/2015 00:00

They can only be doing that by severely compromising the CfE BGE Stacey.

Each national 5 consists of a certain amount of hours teaching. A standard school year really only allows for 6 if the BGE is done up until the end of 3rd year as it is supposed to. Our school is doing 7 by stealing a month at the end of 3rd year and starting the school year at the beginning of May rather than June as is traditional.

7 Nat 5s is really equivalent to the 8 o grades that we used to do given that Maths now incorporates Arithmetic rather than it being a separate subject. I know that schools doing 8 are getting pupils to cut down subjects at the end of 2nd year and then another cut at end of third year. Are they doing 9 by doing early presentations?

prettybird · 04/08/2015 00:19

Ds' school makes their selection at the end of S2 (I know of a school I think in East Kilbride that chooses in S1 Shock) which is why they can do 8 (and I agree - it does technically compromise the full principles of the Broad General Education - although you could argue that the choices columns gave them the option to cover all 8 areas). At the end of S3, they do tests and, combined with their reports, that will inform which subjects they do at Nat 5 and those they just do at Nat 4.

Come to think of it, ds will end up with 8 Nat 5s and 1 Nat 4, as his school report said he was on course to get one for (core) RME.

WankerDeAsalWipe · 04/08/2015 00:29

Ours are doing 7 pb we have talked before and you know which school my children are at but I had to change my name Wink your DS and my DS1 started High school at the same time.

I understand how schools are able to offer 8 but not 9 (5s) without early presentations or something else.

My Dss are in a similar position to yours in that they may be awarded 4s and 3s in subjects they haven't taken to Nat 5 based purely on the work they have done during the BGE. i understand though that there is a lot more paperwork involved than they thought so that there may not be as much of that as they had hoped.

StaceyAndTracey · 04/08/2015 03:19

No,they are it doing early presentations, but they do choose subjects at the end of S2. And they also start each year at the start of June and not August .

I think They feel that 8 or 9 subjects IS a BGE.

English
maths
One or two sciences
a modem language
a social subject
or more two of art/ music/ drama
computing / business
PE
RMPS

But I'm just a parent , so have no idea why they do it that way

StaceyAndTracey · 04/08/2015 04:35

Sorry , not doing early presentations

prettybird · 04/08/2015 08:32

Stacey - Sounds similar to ds' school - with the exception that RME isn't taken to Nat 5 (unless it's chosen as a subject) and that at ds' school it is possible to take all 3 Sciences if you want to. The only reason ds had to drop the "Expressive Arts" element of the BGE was because he wanted to do Physics, Chemistry and PE - and the Drama/Art etc options were all in those columns. He ended up doing Computing Science as his 8th subject , which, although useful, isn't really an Expressive Art! Wink

WDAW - I remember your boys and the school uniform! Grin

prettybird · 04/08/2015 08:35

Just to add everyone still does PE and RME as core subjects, in addition to their 8 chosen subjects (so, ds gets "core" PE in addition to his "subject" PE)

LindyHemming · 04/08/2015 16:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

museumum · 04/08/2015 16:43

Edinburgh has the most fantastic quality of life IMO.

WankerDeAsalWipe · 04/08/2015 20:17

I found a more up to date list of school exam passes at Higher for info:

www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/how-well-your-kids-school-5407127

backwardpossom · 04/08/2015 20:35

I suppose where you should look at to live depends on what you want. I would hate to live in a city - the thought of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen etc gives me the boak. I live much further north - I love cycling - mountain biking and road cycling - running, swimming, hill walking etc, so it suits me perfectly. The schools here are pretty good and I love the pace of life.

Not everyone's cup of tea though!

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 04/08/2015 20:38

I'm not sure school exam passes are a particularly good indicator of school quality as they don't show improvement over time in school.

HMIE reports might be a bit more useful.

wafflyversatile · 04/08/2015 20:46

I would love to live by the water, not necessarily the sea. Not a big city, but not too rural either. I'm sure that doesn't narrow it down at all.....

Broughty Ferry in Dundee. A beach. Not a big city, not too rural.

MarchLikeAnAnt · 04/08/2015 20:50

Square sausage.-I would move back up there just for that if DH allowed.

WankerDeAsalWipe · 04/08/2015 20:58

Itsallgoingtobefine - I already said that when I posted the original list - I was just posting an updated one for information.

WankerDeAsalWipe · 04/08/2015 21:06

...and I say that as someone whose DC attend a school that is consistently in the top 3-5 for exam passes in the country. there are loads of things that I think other schools do much better and I am unhappy about some things in particular, but I also know that I have the luxury of thinking about those things because there is a fair chance that my DC are going to come out with decent results. The exam results mainly indicate that the amount of distraction in the classroom from people not interested getting decent exams results is minimal. I could equally look at the amount of children on FSM in a school and come up with a very similar outcome....and before someone jumps down my throat, I come from a background of FSm and attended a school where containment rather than attainment was top priority.

My top school choice would be one statistically punching above it's weight with a good pastoral care and positive outcomes record - that's a bit harder to quantify by on-line googling unfortunately.

LindyHemming · 04/08/2015 21:30

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Cloudhowe63 · 04/08/2015 22:04

Another vote for Broughty Ferry. A wee jewel, bustling town,good schools, minutes from beaches, countryside, St Andrews 20 mins away and easy train journeys to Aberdeen, Edinburgh.

Cloudhowe63 · 04/08/2015 22:06

And a popular uni in Dundee. (Great student union I'm told!).

backwardpossom · 04/08/2015 23:45

It certainly had a good student union when I was a student in St Andrews. We used to get the bus across the Tay Bridge and get absolutely slaughtered there on double GT for £1.50. sigh Those were the days... Wink

prettybird · 05/08/2015 00:15

That bus was supposed to be used to link the libraries Wink. I only ever used it to go shopping in Dundee (M&S and - most exciting when it opened showing my age Blush Next). Don't think I ever crossed the threshold of any of the academic institutions in Dundee. Oops.

backwardpossom · 05/08/2015 00:34

Oh is that what it was for?

Cloudhowe63 · 05/08/2015 00:49

I believe there's a night bus now. so that you can access the library at anytime

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