Primary schools/family areas in Edinburgh?

[ocelot41]

Absurdly excited - am in with a good shot at a job in Edinburgh, but last lived there many moons ago when was pre- DC. If I was successful, once I had stopped dancing, what would I do about a primary school transfer for DS? He has just turned 6 and is currently in Year 1 in an English state school. Which are more family oriented areas to live in?. OK, OK I know I am getting a bit ahead of myself here - just so excited!!!!

I got what you meant OP, I think people are just saying that having a different accent isn't really a big thing nowadays. At the end of the day, your child may get picked on or not but it's unlikely that they would target him because of his accent. Unless you get into a very small pocket of Edinburgh where there are not many incomers, he will not be the only one with a non Edinburgh accent. Hell, I was born and raised in Edinburgh and I don't even have an Edinburgh accent - it is just generically Scottish.

Don't worry about the accent thing, and actually I wouldn't worry about student neighbours either: we've had them for more than 20 years without ever having a serious problem. Students work hard these days, and the HMO system holds enough clout that landlords tend to care. You have to be prepared for the occasional party but that's no bad thing - you can mentally set it against nights when the baby cries, or whatever. Also the tenements are well built enough that sound doesn't travel too badly. It's a matter of personal preference, but we much prefer being in the centre within walking distance of everything to being further out with a house.

Good luck with the application (too much to hope you're applying for the job I'm wanting applicants for, but you never know!)

Have you considered Portobello? Otherwise known as Edinburgh's seaside, it's extremely family-friendly with a real sense of community. Most children go to Towerbank Primary, then on to Portobello High which is getting a brand new building some time soon - I'm not sure whether it's opening this September or next, but definitely long before your DS reaches high school age. Portobello has quite a lot of 'incomers' these days (including lots of leftie/Green/arty types) so I don't think your DS would be teased for his English accent. It's a little bit further out than places like Bruntsfield and Marchmont, more of a bus ride into the city than a walk. There are lots of university staff living in the area, and the 45 bus route takes you direct from Portobello High Street to South Bridge, very close to George Square (other buses go into town, but you'd be walking from Princes Street).

Another vote for having a look at Portobello. I grew up very near there many moons ago and it wasn't so nice back then but I've had several visits in the past couple of years and it's very different now. The prom is bustling with families every pleasant evening and it almost feels Mediterranean! The new school will be miles better than the last building and there a plenty of shops and activities. I actually quite fancy moving there myself!

SQUEEEEEEEEE! I got the Edinburgh job! Over the moon!!!!

Congratulations! What area do you think is your first pick?

I think area will probably be determined by which school places are available as we have missed the deadline to be in situ for catchments. Thankfully the uni have a relocation officer to advise on this stuff so going to talk on Mon. Will keep you posted! I think my preference would be Morningside/Newington but open to looking at Corstorphine/Portobello too

Ficus on good high schools and then look to the feeder primaries would be my advice. Budget will be a big factor ( though if moving from London may not be an issue) Edinburgh is expensive.

Thanks - yes, it is expensive if coming from Sarf East London. If North or SW London, probs not, but we are not fund manager types! But soooo much nicer....

Any good tips about schools (primaries or secondaries) with good sports facilities/playing fields? My DS is super active and would benefit from some SPACE

Use google maps , some of the town Victorian schools have no grass or astroturf playing fields on site.

It's certainly not the fashionable end of town, but we've found North Edinburgh is very family orientated and most of the schools are fine at primary level. If you're an academic you might not be here long enough to bother about secondaries, and it's way cheaper to live up here. There's a nice mix of Scots, Eastern Europeans, a few English, and randoms like us (Canadian), accents certainly not an issue. The waterfront being so close is brilliant for DH, who runs (Edinburgh park run takes place there too), and for the kids to have somewhere with lots of safe space for scooters and bikes.

Where in N Edinburgh MShip ?

We moved into our current area in April, 2 years ago, when the local school was theoretically full already for P1.

I spoke to the P1 placements officer at the council beforehand, and sent over council tax info plus bills as proof of residency as soon as we moved.

We got a P1 place allocated for August, as did about another 4-5 children who moved into catchment within the same timescale.

So definitely speak to the council, and think about where you'd like to live, as opposed to perhaps moving to a less desirable area when there could be space found where you'd like to be.

ocelot Muirhouse - terrible reputation, but at least in our neighborhood it's undeserved these days. Lots of redevelopment which has attracted incomers who aren't put off by the Trainspotting type associations! I suggest you check out the Scottish social deprivation index maps - like us you might find a nice pocket.

Thanks MShip!

Check out Musselburgh. Only a 7 minutes train ride into Waverley and an awesome little town. Great schools too, right by the beach and country, has a theatre, an annual festival, cheaper than Edinburgh. Minutes from Portobello. Minutes from Fort Kinnaird, minutes from the A1 and city bypass.

There are very few Edinburgh schools with real playgrounds. Edinburgh council flogged them all off years ago for housing developments. If sports is what you want, you want a primary that is near a park & that uses the park. Both schools on Leith Links (huge green space) are there all the time, as are the schools close to Pilrig (particularly the state Gaelic school).
Lots of uni staff live in Stockbridge/ New Town but it doesn't have huge green spaces for schools to use. Portobello is full of uni staff as well. Beach is great.

deprivation isn't linked to poor behaviour. There is an awful lot of snobbery about local schools. Bad schools are solely due to poor management not because the kids are poor.

I have read some good things about Preston St in old threads and they are pretty close to the Meadows. Anyone got any recent experience of there?

Hmm, I've just had a look on that map of deprivation - think it may be a pile of shite.

I'm looking out my window at all the large 4 bed exec new builds with a variety of smart cars parked outside, mainly high earners, average house price over £225k (I'm not in Edinburgh) and the estate has been put into category 3, the exact same as the neighbouring (moderately rough) council estate.

Op I went to primary in South Edinburgh, the school has long been knocked down and the school that was built in the playing grounds when more places were needed (before I started school) has been expanded - it was always seen as a more upper class school than mine. Anyway, both schools used to have access to large school fields. No idea what the new school is like - it's been renamed Pentland Primary.

stewie I certainly didn't mean to imply that! More that deprived areas tend to see more rubbish in the playgrounds, and more anti social behavior e.g. there's a serious motorcycle theft and joy riding problem in the neighborhood next to ours.

one it's definitely a few years out of date, you're right - some of the formerly really deprived areas up here simply don't exist anymore, the estates have been demolished and mixed private/social new builds are going up.

Congratulations on getting the job, OP. Preston St is a lovely primary school, but I wouldn't have said the area around it is particularly family-friendly - it's in Newington, which always feels very urban to me, and it's a very student-y district. Still, you've got Holyrood Park with Arthur's Seat in one direction, and the Meadows in the other, so plenty of places to play! And the Commonwealth Pool on your doorstep if swimming's your thing.

Well done on the job OP! School intakes for P1 are tight in a lot of areas, but there do tend to be places kept for people moving into the area (think usually 1 or 2?). The council could probably help you with that - I know they sometimes keep places right up until August (I know someone that got their primary place on the first day of term which was really stressful, but does mean that a place had been kept in reserve and was only released to the waiting list at the last minute).