Late applications to Edinburgh secondaries (long, sorry!)

[AllTheNameAreTakenEvenThisOne]

DH has been offered a brilliant job opportunity in Edinburgh, he'd be mad not to accept it. We have family in Glasgow and friends in both Glasgow and Edinburgh, I think it'd be a really positive move for us all. Currently we're in England.

But the move seems daunting as we'd be moving in the same year as our eldest's secondary school admissions, so we'd miss this process. Can anyone help me navigate this?

This has all happened really quickly - but realistically I don't think we'll have sold our house and be ready to move till the new year at the earliest, or later if the market's not moving - unless we're really lucky.

Also, because of the difference in the English and Scottish systems, I can't see any way of doing this other then selling our house first, then renting in Edinburgh while we house hunt. We don't have much spare cash - our house budget is about £300k which I know doesn't go far in Edinburgh!

So, by the time we've bought a home in Edinburgh, we'll have long missed the applications process.

Can anyone give me any advice on this? I know the system is different to England, there isn't the same competition for places, but are Edinburgh schools oversubscribed even so?

DS is bright and has ASD (high functioning) so I need to be careful he's going to a school that he'll likely thrive in.

Will DS end up without a school? Or sent to one miles away that's not suitable for him? Are we mad to consider this?

Thanks for reading all this!

I used to live in Penicuik :)

DC were born when we lived there and the plan was to stay but I got made redundant so we relocated when they were toddlers.

Schools are both decent, I favoured Beeslack but there is not much to choose between them tbh.

The town centre doesn't have a lot, it's basically a commuter town but it has a decent supermarket, Drs/dentists etc and a sports centre. easy access to the bypass and less than 10 miles from Princes street.

I used to commute by bus and it was fine, better off if you are East end of the city and there is also the night bus for getting back after a late evening :o

We like Mauricewood primary and the area around there.

That property looks lovely but will go for more than £300k

This would probably be in budget and is a nice estate:
espc.com/property/3-muirhead-place-penicuik-eh26-0le/35803128?sid=365913

You may have longer than you think . From ECC website

The Council aims to provide places for P1 and S1 pupils at one of their catchment schools, if they are living in the catchment area by the end of February in the year they begin primary or secondary school, subject to being resident at the same address at the start of session

Having a signed tenancy agreement counts as living there I think.

If you are talking about moving up in the New Year then it’s a P7 place you are looking for, which usually isn’t a problem. Then your son will move with ( some or most of) his classmates up to the local high school. It’s a very smooth process and usually the children love it. They have induction days in June.

Once your child has a place you will need to go into the school and meet with the head of learning support to talk about transition arrangements , support etc for your son. Remember to get any relevant documents from his English school. You will need proof of ASD diagnosis etc.

Will DS end up without a school? Or sent to one miles away that's not suitable for him? Are we mad to consider this?

He will NEVER be left without a school place. If your catchment area school is full then he will be offered a place at another local school. Most councils will provide transport if its over a certain distance from home and he can move to his local school when a place is available.

My sister moved into the catchment of a very over subscribed school in April. She was told there was no place and the LA did as I described above. But a place became available before August. They keep a few places back for children who move into the catchment area.

Do not I repeat NOT listen to any estate agents or landlords about what is the “ local school “. Check the address on the Council website , that’s the only reliable source.

www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/20256/school_places/1377/find_your_catchment_school

You are not remotely mad. Edinburgh and the surrounding areas are mostly lovely, the schools are good, there’s lots of culture, sports , things for kids to do, crime is low, quality of life is high.

I hope it works out for you.

Oh, and it also gets more snow than normal - it's just a wee bit higher and has it's own climate. We also used to look over and see edinburgh under cloud while we had sun. :)

Was that when you lived in Tenerife?

if they are living in the catchment area by the end of February in the year they begin primary or secondary school, subject to being resident at the same address at the start of session

That's encouraging - although, I'm not sure if we'll be there for Feb. Definitely gives us something to aim for. (Must order that skip today and get on with clearing my attic out - going for a drastic approach!)

This place is lovely, I was wondering why it's so cheap, it says it's in Costorphine. The map shows it's not actually Costorphine though - it's not just near the airport it's practically on the runway!

espc.com/property/6-lennie-cottages-craigs-road-edinburgh-eh12-0bb/35800515?sid=865233

What's Craigmount like?

Craigmount area is fine; feeds in to Craigmount school; or there's Royal High nearby which has Cramond/Cammo/Blackhall/Silverknowes & Davidson's Mains as feeder areas.

This was a useful thread

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/local/2348738-Edinburgh-secondary-schools-some-alternative-ratings

I think the top schools are usually Gillespie’s and Boroughmuir but they’re in really expensive areas.

Then Royal High, most affordable bits probably Clermiston and Silverknowes

Then Craigmount, prob East Craigs for affordable.

Then further out like Currie and Balerno.

Be careful with catchments as there’s a change happening with old Wester Hailes (worst school in Edinburgh by results), so you might want to see where it’s stidents are going, and also there’s movement around Cammo proposed but that would only move you from Royal High to Craigmount, both good.

I dont think the school for Portobello is brilliant.

Also, if you wanted them to be in the year below, that might be possible, as they would have been considered for deferment, being a Nov birthday. Not an expert on that though.
www.familiesonline.co.uk/local/glasgow/in-the-know/your-rights-if-your-child-is-due-to-start-school-in-scotland-before-they-turn-5

What year is your ds currently in in England?

I think yr6 right now?

Yes, that's right, year 6.

I don't think putting him down a year would be ideal. He's excited about moving to secondary. He's a bright boy and also he's a tall thin beanpole! He'd stick out like a sore thumb if he went down a year.

Just thought I’d mention so you know you could (maybe!)

PullingMySocksUp sorry I should have said, I'm very grateful for the suggestion, thank you And anyway, there's no way you could know that DS is a beanpole!

It's great to know that options exist. (The English system is totally inflexible about age AFAIK.)

I dont think the school for Portobello is brilliant

That's useful info. I do like Portobello, some friends used to live near there. And, I've noticed we might just be able to afford a small place in what estate agents called Portobello (but is probably next to it in reality!) but they're few and far between. If the school's not so great perhaps I can just forget that now.

That thread is also fantastically useful, thanks PullingMySocksUp!

And don’t want to upset anyone but I’d think long and hard about the Portobello catchment. It’s a new build but that’s all I’d say it has going for it.
We’re trying to move for this reason but have all the same issues you do (300k somehow isn’t a lot of money)

Don't have much to add to this thread, apart from the fact that my sister plumped for Linlithgow when she was in a similar position to you and has no regrets.
We do seem to love helping people in this kind of situation, I think Hollyrood should hire us to help reverse the brain drain!

If he's in Y6 now , then him going in to P7 next year is not him "going" down a year - it's him staying in the same year as the one he has been in in England

The confusion is because of the different age cut-offs.

Remember: Scottish school kids have one extra formal year at primary (no Reception here), P1-P7and then just 6 years at secondary (with the option of going to Uni after just 5 ), S1-S6.

Nat 5s are sat at the end of S4 - at the same time (roughly - a couple of weeks earlier ) as English kids sit their GCSEs. They sit Highers in S5 and then, if they want, Advanced Highers (equivalent of A Levels) in S6 (or more/re-sit/crash Highers and/or extra/re-sit Nat 5s).

If you put your ds in to S1 next year (which, age wise, he could go into as one of the younger ones in the year), he would end up sitting his Nat 5s a year before his current English class mates. He would end up finishing school, even if he does S6, when he is only 17.5 and if he goes to Uni, would only turn 18 in the November of his 1st year.

You will know if he is sufficiently bright and mature to cope both academically and socially to skip a year.

@prettybird finishing secondary at 17 is totally normal in Scotland though.

I don’t think November is particularly one of the younger ones. There’s December, January and February who’ll be younger. So it’s like a May birthday in England.

It is (for at least half the year ) but I just wanted to explain to Allthenamesaretaken that her ds wouldn't be going back a year - if he goes into S1, he'd be jumping ahead a year.

That may be the right thing for him - but it's a choice that only they will know.

Ds, even though he did S6, was 17 during Freshers Week and only turned 18 on the 1st day of lectures He had one friend in his year who had turned 18 in the December of S6 (as his mum had deferred him) - and another (cleverest but youngest in the year ) who only turned 18 in the February of 1st year at Uni

I was also only 17 when I went to Uni but I went after S5 and my birthday is in April so I was only drinking illegally for 6 months (Good thing about being at St Andrews was that they assumed you were 18 ).

...the positive thing for AllTheNameAreTaken is that she and her ds have the choice

prettybird oh, that is food for though. Hmm....

So, are most Scottish students 17 when they go to uni?