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

Original poster

any of your DCs starting S1 this august?

298 replies

strangerthongs · 16/02/2019 19:52

I thought I'd start our own thread seeing as there's threads for S5/6, exams, uni etc.

V nervous about DD starting S1. High school's a whole other ball game isn't it? I remember being badly bullied and feeling overwhelmed in the first few weeks.

Does anyone know what books they tend to read in English in S1 nowadays, and what they study in History in S1 - my two favourite subjects when I was at schools so I'm curious.

In my DD's high school, they will be choosing subjects midway through S1 which seems awfy early (it was S2 when I was at school).

I wonder what the most popular subjects are...there seems to be some really cool options nowadays although I would hope DD will choose subjects that she is likely to actually use/need in her future career and not because all her friends are doing it.

Anyone else have a DC starting high school?

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Original poster
strangerthongs · 25/03/2019 09:14

I could only see for my LA, is there a league table that lists all the schools in Scotland from number 1 in the whole country to worst in the whole country and if so, where can I see it? Just curious though.

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DerbyRacer · 25/03/2019 10:07

wax is your ds leaving the school because he is year 5 or 6. Or is he leaving to go to another school? If you could go back in time would you choose that school for him?

WaxOnFeckOff · 25/03/2019 10:13

He is S6. He went there as his elder brother did although he was given free choice. It was a placing request because of bullying with Ds1. I don't regret the decision but the school they should have gone to has rocketed up the league tables. Poor performance wasn't the reason for not going and their school does have a lovely atmosphere. I just had particular issues with support or lack thereof.

DerbyRacer · 25/03/2019 10:53

wax I am in the situation where I am considering ds goes to a different high school from his class due to potential bullying. It is manageable just now but if it gets worse I really think I will do it. All ds talks about is how this boy has made school horrible for him. The boy only moved to ds' school this year. Ds is even saying he would rather go to another high school.

DerbyRacer · 25/03/2019 10:54

But should one boy be a reason to go to a different school? It is such a hard decision.

WaxOnFeckOff · 25/03/2019 11:37

It is a hard decision. With Ds1 it was more than one child and we were wary of him going up already a target. Despite everything, it was definitely the right decision but the original effects of the bullying are still affecting him at nearly 19. The difficulty is that you can't see the future and also never know what might have been.

DerbyRacer · 25/03/2019 11:54

That's so sad that your ds is still affected by it.

Original poster
strangerthongs · 26/03/2019 06:20

well DD came home totally grossed out from the childbirth video they watched yesterday - which the boys didn't need to watch - WTF?

I told her don't worry about "down there" cause you won't get to see if you ever have a child of your own, but you'll definitely feel it so insist on the drugs! Sorry, bad mum alert Grin

She's a bit worried about what today will involve.

We have also been increasing the walking home from school herself to give her some experience too - although the primary school is pretty much just around the corner!

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dontfluffthefluffer · 26/03/2019 09:33

Hahahaha take all the drugs is a super bit of advice Grin

Mine had the sex Ed/childbirth stuff a couple of weeks ago but I think they are all involved in all classes, weird the boys didn't need to watch it as it would be really beneficial for them too.

I've been encouraging the walking to and from school over the last few months too but have the slight fear as she'll need to get a bus to high school. Speaking with her team about it as she's on the asd spectrum with dcd (dyspraxia rebranded kind of) and takes everyone at their word and with terrible coordination so buses are quite the sensory overload for her. She seems confident enough so I think I'm probably just worrying unnecessarily.

Original poster
strangerthongs · 29/03/2019 12:50

yes some of the kids in her class are having additional transition days due to their additional support needs.

I forgot it was the easter break! I would have forgotten to pick DD up early if another mum had not said on FB. Another bad mum alert!

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weebarra · 29/03/2019 14:00

DS is having advanced transition too, he has ADHD and dyspraxia. We're also having extra child planning meetings in the run up. My lot don't finish till next friday, they're knackered!

dontfluffthefluffer · 30/03/2019 13:03

Same here @weebarra another week to go. Though ds (eldest) has revision sessions during the hols so will need to get him up and out the house early for a few days but at least it's not rushing from one thing to the next the whole time.

Original poster
strangerthongs · 30/03/2019 18:19

Need to find some things for DD to do over Easter, especially arts and crafts (and I don't mean basic drawing). She loves proper art and crafts but lots of classes cost too much. The art school classes for kids are ridiculously expensive Shock

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weebarra · 30/03/2019 19:09

Stranger - how you checked out your local hobbycraft? They do a lot of classes. Where are you?

weebarra · 30/03/2019 19:14

fluff - I'm working for the first week but love the fact that all three kids' classes are off! I also work in education but not in school so life tends to be slightly quieter during holidays.
I'll stick my penn'orth into the league table for schools stuff. One of the schools I'm involved with is very low in the tables. Some of those kids are coming into school as a safe place from the shittiest of home situations and the staff and pupils work really hard. I'm proud to work with them.

Original poster
strangerthongs · 30/03/2019 19:23

we are near Glasgow, about 30 mins drive.

DD loves hobbycraft but I didn't know they could do classes? Is there anything online?

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Original poster
strangerthongs · 30/03/2019 19:24

ah just had a look. it seems a bit more basic than DD would like.

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Neednewcarpets · 31/03/2019 08:57

Did anyone see this in the Evening News? They did the list of schools by Higher results and then this one, which lists by 'positive destinations'. Interesting. www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/education/the-best-and-worst-high-schools-in-edinburgh-for-getting-pupils-into-work-training-or-further-study-1-4895403

weebarra · 31/03/2019 09:58

Yes, I work for SDS who are basically responsible for careers advisers in schools. We follow up leavers to see what they're doing , which informs these statistics. We're currently doing the follow up of the follow up, to see who have sustained their initial destination.

sassanach · 31/03/2019 10:15

test

sassanach · 31/03/2019 10:18

great, it worked.

I work for them too weebarra hence the name change so as not to be outed. Whereabouts are you? CIAG or another dept? I've floated around different depts. SLDR used to be a bad word until they sent that responsibility externally.

Original poster
strangerthongs · 31/03/2019 10:23

that's interesting but that's just edinburgh. Where are the positive destination reports to be found? I know that local papers can sometimes do a (small, side column) article but can't remember where they can be found online?

My DD's high school is the second lowest performing in terms of highers / national 5s in our local authority, but I recall hearing that it was all positive destinations last year or the year before, and the only school in the LA that had this. So it would be good to double check this.

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Neednewcarpets · 31/03/2019 10:30

news.gov.scot/news/school-leaver-attainment-and-destinations-2. Guessing this is the starting point.