Glasgow academy or high school of Glasgow

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Posted this in Chat and a poster suggested it would be better here:

We plan to move to the Bearsden/Milngavie area of Glasgow in time for start of summer term 2020. We will visit both schools but looking for other feedback on them too please. Would love to hear views, good or bad.

TIA

Me again, I hope you get more responses here. It’s probably hard for most to compare as we’ll only have experience of one or the other. We’re very happy with HSOG. So far we have found it nurturing and supportive with lots of opportunity to grow in individual strengths (whether academic or creative). I would have to say though that the outdoor space is very limited at the junior school. The open day is in October. It would be worth following both schools on Facebook, Twitter, Insta etc to see what they’re up to.

Hope the move goes well. Search down through the older threads, there’s some about moving to Milngavie/Bearsden and the other local schools.

Open days are coming up- go to junior schools and senior schools for both.

I have a friend who has two kids at Glasgow Academy (boy and girl) and seems very happy with the school. She says it was very nurturing through primary school, especially as one of them was (undiagnosed?) dyslexic.

They're now in S2/S3(?) I lose track and they seem to very involved in a variety of sports like rugby and rowing. Most weekends seem to be taken up with sporting activities.

Personally don't see why they're paying out for private school when they're in the catchment of a good state school

Bearsden Academy or Douglas Academy in my opinion. Just as good as the private provision.

My children don't go to either of those schools but I think transport to the high school seems easier.
The academy seem to get a train to Partick and change for the underground.
Hordes of high schoolers get the train.

Remember that if you want to get your children into the local state schools you may have to move much earlier than the summer. It depends what year groups they are in and if the school has spaces. That’s unlikely at P1 and S1 for example.

Like PP I’ve heard excellent things about all four schools mentioned here. Hard to choose.

I’d just send them to Bearsden, Boclair or
Douglas Academy, the schools are the reason most people I know move there instead of spending a fortune on a house and then more on private school!

Out of those two though I think I’d probably pick Glasgow High.

My schooling was irreparably damaged by my dad (a doctor) sacrificing my education on the altar of his political principles, according to his colleagues

....I went to Bearsden Primary and Bearsden Adademy and got 6 As for my Highers (as did most of my friends in my class) and went off to St Andrews after S5

It does seem odd to move to an area with such excellent schools, and then go with a private school.

I view our terrifying Bearsden mortgage advice a form of school fees for the excellent local schools. It seems unwise to essentially be paying twice. But good luck to you.

I view our terrifying Bearsden mortgage advice a form of school fees for the excellent local schools

Quite. When we moved here we paid a lot more for our house than we would have paid moving into other parts of the city. But it was SO worth it for the schools. I have a number of friends who pay £20k per year per child for HSOG or other private schools, their kids are doing no worse or no better than mine at the local state school.

Their choice how to spend their money of course, but it does seem odd. And although we paid more for our house, issues with school placing requests locally mean that catchment properties are being snapped up very quickly. We should get that money back when we sell. Eventually.

I also went to one of these schools and got straight As and off to a RG Uni after s5 to do a v competitive degree :)

Thank you everyone who has replied, it’s so helpful as we are in England and don’t know the area or the school system and have no friends or family in Scotland to advise - that is actually another consideration, we’re keen to find a place with a friendly community feel and we’d hoped to do that partly through schools. I’d assumed that as Glasgow Academy and HSOG have junior schools in Bearsden/ Milngavie that a lot of the local children would attend. Perhaps I’m wrong? And schools aside, do these areas have a friendly, village-y feel where people welcome new arrivals?

I thought it might be easier to get the children into private junior schools especially if we move during term time and I’ve read some worrying things about the Curriculum for Excellence, but if local state primary schools are very good we’d be happy to consider.

Is it common for children from the local
state primaries to transfer to private secondary?
Which are the best local primaries? From clicking through old threads as a PP suggested ( thank you @singtanana ) it seems some of the primaries might have some issues?

In my experience, it is far more common for children to attend the state primaries then switch into private for secondary. However, certainly the HSOG does a "transitus" year which is equivalent to the Scottish P7. Some children therefore leave after P6 and go private.

The local state schools are very, very good though. Most families I know have children in the local state primaries and secondaries. It is a very small percentage from bearsden and milngavie who go private purely because state is just as good. If you're living elsewhere in the city with a not so great catchment, that's a different decision.

We've been very happy living here and there is a very good community feel. But you're wrong thinknig that just because the private schools have junior sections in the area, that's the way to make connections with local parents. They draw from a much wider area, all over the city, and further afield too.

I'm not as familiar with the Milngavie primaries but Bearsden and Mosshead have very good reputations, Killermont too but that feeds into Boclair not Bearsden Academy. Milngavie Primary is good and I have friends with kids at Craigdhu and they are happy with it too. I have not heard of schools with issues at all. Well, not specific issues beyond the fact they are all full to bursting as they are building so many new houses.

There are lots of new arrivals into Bearsden and Milngavie every year, my kids have all been through Primary here with kids coming and going all the time. It appears to be the default place to stay for anyone arriving to work in the Uni or large hospital as it's the right side of town for traffic. My kids have children in their class whose parents have come from all over the world.

It sounds like you've not even been up and had a look though. I'd advise you do that before committing to anything.

You’re right @OtraCosaMariposa, we haven’t been up to look, it’s tricky for various practical reasons ( including that imminent arrival of DC4) but I know we need to do so in next few weeks as it’s possible that when my husband’s job is sorted we’ll have to move pretty quickly - we really don’t want to live apart as a family for any length of time especially with new baby. That’s why this thread is so helpful in clarifying our thinking - we’re hoping to come for long weekend very soon and I want to be able to focus our search as much as possible. Also fretting about houses prices, rentals etc, but I should probably start a separate thread on that!

Ultimately I’d rather not pay a fortune for private school if we don’t have to so I am rather cheered by your feedback.

Do Bearsden and Douglas academies have equally good reputations? From what you’ve said I’m guessing Boclair academy not so much?

I know parents with kids at Boclair and they're very happy. Also the council have just announced that they're building a whole new school on the same campus and pulling down the old 1960s one. They have a pool too! But in terms of exam results although they are still better than average, Douglas and Bearsden pip them at the post.

Both Douglas and Bearsden academy are brand new, built within the last 10 years. Not sure about Douglas but Bearsden has amazing facilities like great professional drama rooms, kilns in the art department and loads of extra-curricular stuff going on. they are both big secondaries with a 200 plus intake each year which means they offer a wide range of subjects as you progress through the school.

The whole state school entry operates very differently from England though with fixed catchments. It used to be that you could buy anywhere and chance your arm with a placing request to get your child into a Bearsden school. That's just not possible any more as once all catchment area children are accommodated, there's no space. On the other hand, if you buy in catchment, you're pretty much guaranteed a place.

In your position I'd call the Education |Department at East Dunbartonshire Council (or email them), setting out your situation, tell them the ages of your children and asking about the process for in year transfers. Children are moving all the time - two left my son's class over the summer as their parents got new jobs. There is likely to be space around. The Council handles all of this, not individual schools. If of course they come back and say there's no space and they can only offer you a space miles away, you can then look into whether private might be more appropriate.

The council won’t be able to tell you about spaces until you have an address so you know which catchment you are in. Any info they give you will be out of date by the time you have this. For obvious reasons, info on school places can change day to day.

If you can’t get your child into the local school, the council will provide transport to another local school and then move your child as soon as there is a space. Even if there are no spaces in March / April, they often open up my August . You just have to hold your nerve.

If you are not keen to pay for private schools then don’t. There’s absolutely no need if you are going to live in Bearsden or Milngavie. One of the reasons house prices are so high is that people pay a premium so they DONT have to go private.

IMO you would be mad to go private for 4 children x 13 years unless you have money to burn or your other choices are poor. You can have free top quality education for all your children right through to the end of their undergraduate degree . That’s about £200k saved per child. What else could you / your child do with that money ?

Anyway It sounds like your children are at primary stage so just send them to the local primary as soon as you move up. Once you are living here you can then decide if you want to go private for secondary.

Sending your kids to the local primary school is by far the best way to meet friends locally, especially if you will be on mat leave and can do things during the day.

This is what I’d do in your situation.

Come up for a few weekends / holidays to get the area. Decide where you want to buy / rent .

As soon as you have bought ( you’ll need a letter from your solicitor ) or rented ( you’ll need a tenancy agreement going past August ) then you can apply for school places. If you have a request in by end January you are almost guaranteed places.

Ideally I would move up in May / early June ( assuming you have places ) and move my kids into their new school for the last few weeks of term ( they close around 23 June ) . That way it won’t be so nerve wracking in August.

I’m assuming that you don’t have a P7 as there no point in starting them when they are about to move schools.

Can I ask the ages of your school aged children ? I assume you know the ages are different here - the cut off date is 28 Feb and there’s a lot more flexibility.
.

We live in Bearsden. It’s a nice, safe town with plenty of local amenities. People are generally friendly and nice. Location is great as it’s quite close to glasgow, with good transport links. Also fairly close to Loch Lomond and the Trossachs. Can definitely recommend it as a place to move to.

Boclair was built in the mid 70s. It was 10 years old when I went. Exam results change - my parents moved to the area for schooling and moved into the catchment of Boclair as their results were better at that time than Bearsden or Douglas, stayed that way through my whole time there but changed subsequently

@0lga my eldest would be in P4 this year

I have friends in Bearsden who have sent their DC to HSOG all the way through. It is definitely still a thing. Otoh I also have friends who have transferred into HSOG and the Academy part way through secondary. This is very common. It is far rarer to transfer out of private to state, so if you are unsure I would advise starting in the state system.

The private schools in Glasgow all operate within the Scottish exam curriculum so they all follow the CfE. The most notable difference is that there are more exams throughout schooling within the private sector. The other difference is that children tend to be channelled away from less academic subjects in the private sector. This can lead to less choice later on. If you go on either of the websites for the High School or the Academy you will see what I mean. They list their exam passes by subject. That said both schools have great extra-curricular opportunities.

If your oldest is in P4 then just go for the local primary. You have years to decide which high school. Schools are less likely to be full at P4 stage, there’s always a bit of movement in and out.

At P4 she wont even notice the difference in the curriculum. Good age to move schools. No SATS here, much less pressure.

@OtraCosaMariposa the HSOG is £9k - £13.5k per year NOT £20k.......... OP I have friends at local bearsden and milgavnie state schools and they are moving them to private schools for al the reasons mentioned on here. Good luck with whatever you choose. X

Plenty of good schools in Milngavie. Douglas Academy is excellent and has a good music school if your children are that way inclined. Excellent primary schools in the area and i can vouch for both Craigdhu and MIlngavie primary.

Douglas Academy is a fairly new school. As is Bearsden but unless you live in the catchment area for Bearsden Academy, you will find it hard to get a placing request. Boclair Academy is being rebuilt in the near future. That is in Bearsden. All the primary schools in Bearsden are excellent.