Catch 22 schooling / housing - please help?

[DMJ2019]

Hi. I have just accepted a research fellowship at the University of Stirling and will be making the move from Norway to Scotland with my family this summer (note: none of us are Norwegian - partner is a Scot (Aberdeen) but has been living outside the UK, I am Dutch, my children are Dutch-American). My daughters will enter secondary, S1 and S5. We are considering basing ourselves in Glasgow west end or south side (Shawlands area) or in the Stirling area. We'll take a trip in a week's time to do some 'reconnaissance' :)

My dilemma is the catch 22 situation we find ourselves in with respect to schooling and housing. I have been informed by schools that they will not consider enrolment until I can show proof of permanent address. Choosing an apartment will be within a specific catchment area, but schools in Glasgow say that even if we live in the designated catchment area, the school cannot guarantee a place, as it will depend on available space. I also worry that if we cannot secure housing until this summer, I will not be able to register my girls for school until August, and they might not get into our school of choice at all. Does anyone have experience with this and suggestions on how to mitigate the situation?

The schools we are considering visiting are Dunblane and Wallace near Stirling, Hillhead and Hyndland in the west end, and Shawlands and Holyrood on the southside? Any thoughts on these and other suggestions?

In general, we are looking for a school that can provide good support to my daughters during this transition, as it is their second move to a new country in recent years and a big shift from the Norwegian education system. In addition, DD2 has diagnosed dyslexia, ADHD and other learning challenges. DD1 is set, based on age, to enter S5 but I wonder if going back a year to S4 might help prepare her better for exams next year?

Sorry long post! I would really appreciate your thoughts and insights! TIA

The schools will be fairly quiet when you visit by the way as 4th-6th year are currently on exam leave

Only due to the commute .

As I say, I am a massive fan of the Southside of Glasgow: much better value than the West End or Bearsden/Milngavie (which is where I was brought up and went to school). And I think Shawlands Academy is a brilliant school

Yes, I was surprised when they said the girls have to be in-country. I do have a copy of my employment contract, which I will bring. I hope when I talk to the schools in person, they will be a little more accommodating. Face to face should be better!

We're not sure exactly what my DP will be doing, as he currently has a business in Spain, but might be transitioning to something else as well. That would be one advantage of being in Glasgow - closer to airport. Anyway, lots of change on the horizon! He does have a driving license, so that should help - although we will need to get a car!

Too bad about the exams when we visit, but that can't be helped

Thanks @prettybird! Yes, the commute combined with the increased difficulty of schools gives some pause. But the southside sounds really great and we will still check it out before making a final decision :)

If your DP is travelling a lot I’d check the frequency of flights from Edinburgh and Glasgow and the relevant airlines. I travel a lot and there are many more flights from Edinburgh to where I need to go, you may find the opposite. It would be a pain to situate near one airport and then have to travel to the other.

Good luck with your visit.

Time to either airport from Stirling is broadly similar as Edinburgh airport is this side of Edinburgh and Glasgow airport is the far side from here. It's a quicker drive to central Glasgow than to Edinburgh though.

Will the girls be with you for the visit? Maybe once the schools can see they actually exist and that you will be in the country even if they will still be in the US will be enough. Best of luck.

That's a good point @celtiethree! We already learned that lesson, because there don't seem to be any direct flights between Glasgow and Oslo, but there are from Edinburgh and Aberdeen. This won't be an issue in the future, but good to have a look anyway re some of our most common travel destinations. Good to know that Stirling is actually quite central to two airports!

@WaxOnFeckOff, my girls won't come next week, because when the schools told me that I could not register them until I could prove residence, I did not think we could accomplish that on this trip. If I am able to register them before summer, I will have to travel back with them before mid June. I will actually be coming back to Edinburgh at the end of the month for a conference. Will see how we get on next week and make a plan! I will bring DDs passports anyway, just in case they might prove useful. Thanks for the good wishes :)

yep, google maps is giving me 42 mins from my house (Wallace High catchment) to Glasgow airport and 37 to Edinburgh airport - obviously traffic conditions will increase that. Being in Dunblane would add exactly the same time to both trips as you'd be going the same route until it splits left and right to either city.

Great - that's a bonus!

Same story for IKEA but Glasgow Costco is closer. Though the advantage of Edinburgh is that IKEA and Costco are next door to each other. :)

I’d recommend looking in the Stirling/Bridge of Allan/Dunblane areas. Not as much pressure on schools and pretty much all the high schools have decent results.

It’s very family friendly with plenty of activities and as the university is there, it’s more diverse than other places of a similar size. You will find it much smaller than Oslo but both Glasgow and Edinburgh are easily reachable by train. Shops for teenagers are fine - there’s H&M, Primark, Zara etc. I visit Oslo quite frequently from work. I live about 10 miles closer to Edinburgh than Stirling and it’s 25 mins food to door to get to the airport. There are some direct flights now to the US too.

@cazzyg. Hi and thanks for your response :) Yes, the schooling situation alone may influence our location. We are looking forward to visiting next week to learn more and hopefully put some stakes in the ground

Hey OP (@DMJ2019 )

Just saw this come up for rent and thought of you and wondered how you'd got on with your visit?

www.bastionpropertymanagement.com/property-for-rent/stirling/fishermans-walk-propid68

Hi @WaxOnFeckOff Sorry for the slow reply - really scatterbrained just now while packing up our house. Thanks for thinking of me!! So here's the update - we had a really good, albeit crazy and hectic, visit. And we finally managed to find house and school in the same area, which turned out be Shawlands in Glasgow. We visited Dublane and Wallace HS in Stirling area and really liked the schools and the area (especially BoA was nice), but our meeting with three separate agents yielded no good housing options. We did not like the uncertainty of committing to a school without a place to live, so made a commitment to Glasgow.

We are really excited now, as we found a lovely terraced house in Strathbungo and have confirmed places for both my girls at Shawlands Academy. So @prettybird, we are joining you on the southside

I'll likely be absent for a short while on Mumsnet while shifting countries, but will join back up when settled, and hope to run into some of you in 'real life' later

That's great news OP, glad you are sorted :) Best of luck with the move and the job.

What a fantastic update! Shawlands is a great place to live. Good luck with your move, OP.

Thank you @WaxOnFeckOff and @MoreProseccoNow - really looking forward to getting settled!

That's brilliant. The terraced houses in Strathbungo are lovely There will be lots of kids locally who will also be going to Shawlands.

Lots of good coffee shops close by too for you! When you have time/are able, PM me and we can arrange to meet

I have a friend whose dd will be starting S1 at Shawlands in August. If you'd like, I could ask her if you could meet up before school starts, so there is at least one friendly face for your dd when she starts in August.

Hi @prettybird. That would be fantastic. My dd was very excited to hear she might be able to meet someone before school start. Thanks!
And thanks to everyone for posting on this thread - it has helped tremendously in our decision making! :)

If you PM me with your name and your dd's name and when you'll be in Glasgow, I'll talk to my friend. She's very friendly, as is her dd

But it makes it a lot easier if I can use real names, rather than saying some random person from t'internet wants to meet up

I'll also have a think about which, if any, S5 girls I know; I'm involved with the local rugby club and it has an active girls' section, but my links are more indirect.

Delurking to say good luck to you and your family OP. I have many friends who live in the area you are moving into, there are lots of families and things to do.

Personally I’d consider putting your older DD into S4 and not S5. It’s a very short time from starting in mid August to the prelims in January . There’s a lot of content to cover in her subjects as well as getting used to a new school system and being taught in a new language, making new friends etc.

I’d say it’s the toughest part of their 6 years in high school TBH.

Unless the school would let her do 4 highers and maybe another subject at National 5 level, and then more in 6th year. It will depend on what she has covered so far and how much the curricula match up.

More info here

www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/45777.html

Sadly there is no SQA exam in Dutch or Norewegian, because that would have been a free one for her. Still great for the CV.

The issue with going into S4 is that she’s part way through the Nat5 curriculum and she will have more subjects to study. However these exams are not the ones used for university entry, so argueably less inportant for able pupils ( not unimportant though ).

The only thing to consider is that some ( a few ) university courses will only count highers which are taken in one sitting and they don’t count resits.

Personally I wouldn’t worry about your DD being older than the others in her class. I have one child who is oldest in year and one youngest and the former isn’t an issue.

Pupils themselves won’t think it’s odd as she has moved from abroad etc. Lots of tall girls by 4th and 5th year .

If your younger DD likes music, The Glad Cafe at Shawlands run music classes for children with additional needs

www.thegladfoundation.co.uk/

Hi @IMOGEN Thanks for your input. Yes, we are aware that S5 will be a challenge, but we have discussed it at length with the school. There is no space for her in S4 but she can also repeat S5 or S6. She will take subjects at national 5 level and maybe just 1 or 2 highers. Then she will take more highers in S6. There is uncertainty there, but I think we have communicated our needs and concerns, and the school seems prepared to meet them. They are assuring us good support, so we will just have to see how it goes and make adjustments if things are not working out.

I will have to look into the Glad Cafe. My youngest dd loves to sing

Thanks @prettybird - I'll send you a PM