Help please with schools and areas in Scottish East Coast

[WhatsTheKerfuffle]

Hi, we are hoping to move back to Scotland after moving to England over 20 years ago. I'm originally from Dundee. This time we move with a 10 and 8 year old so our move has to revolve around schools.

We've been looking around Broughty Ferry and North Berwick, but not many properties up for sale in these locations so we're casting our net wider around the East Coast (and beyond) and floundering desperately as there's not much up for sale so I keep jumping from one school to the next. We'd love a beach, but there is a real emptiness in the property market so we might have to give up that dream as we'd like to leave soon so that our P7 child has time to settle in before secondary. We'll pretty much work from home with travel to London, so pretty flexible on location. We've ruled out country living, despite the amazing houses, as we don't want to be a taxi service and we'd love our children to move around independently as they get older. We'd love somewhere 'rural' though, so no cities.

Have looked at Bridge of Allan recently as well as Dunblane too - Wallace High looks like to has a diverse mix of children with a reasonable flow of new children from people moving to work at the university (or there used to be pre COVID ). Can anyone comment on what BofA or Dunblane are like for teenagers and give any info on Wallace High?

Really I'm just looking for suggestions of really nurturing secondary schools that offer a lot on the creative side as well as challenges academically. I'd love a smaller school for both children, but then the curriculum seems to get quite narrow and to get the wider range of subjects creatively I think we need to consider the large schools. My DD1 might also be ADHD and dyslexic (mildly on both, but the older she gets the more different she seems from others in terms of focus) so schools where anyone has had a good experience on those areas being well understood and catered for would be helpful to know about too. We're finally having her assessed as it will be important to get the best help for her at secondary.

Specific questions on areas/schools we've looked at

• Can anyone comment on Anstruther and Waid Academy and generally what it's like for teenagers in the area? Any issues for children with English accents or is the school quite diverse? Good or bad experiences at the school?
• Same questions for Bell Baxter too
• I know we've wandered away from the East Coast, but same questions for Balfron High as the school sounds great.
• We drove around Kinross as the school there sounds good too, but we didn't think there was much for teenagers there - can anyone tell me we missed a bit and there's lots to do?

As you can see we are a bit all over the place!

Thanks so much for any advice at all on schools - really any locations are helpful to research.

Was going to say the same as GreyishDays, for North Berwick area properties make sure you check ESPC as there are lots on there that are not on Rightmove.

If I was in your shoes, I'd go for Dunblane or Bridge of Allan. Upper Bridge of Allan is very nice (DH lived there as a teenager). I wouldn't say its friendly exactly, large plots mean the houses are generally quite private, and I'd say its a very quiet neighbourhood (I work in B of A) you'd probably have to have a dog to meet lots of neighbours. Id also say that a fair proportion of kids living in upper B Of A will go to Dollar Academy.

It's a while ago now but I turned up at Bell Baxter with a cut glass English accent and had zero issues.

We're now in South Aberdeenshire and it's lovely here as well although my children aren't old enough for me to comment on secondary schools.

What is your budget? There are houses in n Berwick if you have a million

Muirhead and birkhill? Auchterhouse? Invergowrie seems to have a steady supply of houses. Liff is full of newbuilds as is piperdam. I cant comment on schools. Broughty ferry is all very lovely but it tends to be cooler on the coast and there is the HARR!!! to ruin nice days.

@WhatsTheKerfuffle
Linlithgow is a thriving wee town, lots of nice places to eat out, plenty activities for kids, good schools and quick train to Edinburgh and 45 min to Glasgow.
His view is very outdated, it’s a very desirable place to live.

@WhatsTheKerfuffle Linlithgow not really old fashioned now, too many well heeled commuters, my sister lives there and my nephew has just left the Academy. Lots of clubs and sporting ops and music handy for Edinburgh too.
Really all the nice commuter towns in the central belt with good schools have a similar kind of vibe and broadly similar facilities, so then it comes down to personal preferences about scenery and housing stock.

I know you don't fancy a new build but before you rule monifieth out completely have a look at the TSPC website. Lots of beautiful housing being built but there are also houses being converted from old churches in monifieth and an old mansion house. Liff has some gorgeous housing and dykes of grey is a new development just up from the swallow hotel circle.

There Invergowrie and Errol of course with old converted farmhouses and steadings.

I walk my German shepherd along the beach every day here and it was just beautiful today x

@Wbeezer my daughter is desperate to have a dog and we’ve said that well finally get one when we move so good advice :)

It's hard, decent but affordable housing is a bit scarce at the moment - we actually sold our house, moved to the new area and rented for nearly 2 years before we found something to buy - quite a lot of folks seem to do the same in popular areas with good schools. Best of luck with your search!

Thanks everyone for all the advice so far:)

I know you've said 5 bed, but also check out 4 beds as larger 4 bed newish builds often have extra rooms downstairs. i.e. I have a 2nd living room and study downstairs that could both be utilised for guests and obviously having a downstairs loo means that works fine. Mine is open plan kitchen and dining but a lot of the newest houses have that as open family room as well (and we are considering knocking through to ours as well).

Hope you find something suitable :)

What about Perth? Lots of new housing being built as well as older houses, loads of primary schools and several secondary schools including the new Bertha Park. Not too far for some beach but it is a drive.

We moved up from England and my older children haven't had any issues with their accents.

Thanks @tyrannid. Oh haven’t heard of Bertha Park. Looks interesting from a quick look at their website. Anyone able to comment on that school?

I think there is another thread about moving to Perth which might be useful.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/scotsnet/4015123-what-areas-of-perth-are-nice-not-nice

We moved to Kinross area about three years ago from Australia, with one dd with an English accent (she never picked up the Aussie one, despite having lived there for most of her life), and one dd with a broad Aussie accent, and neither was a problem. The girls both started in primary when we moved, but are both now at Kinross HS, and honestly we've not had any problems at all. Eldest is autistic (Aspergers), and she bobs along just fine, in the main, if you exclude the usual teenage dramas!

I like Kinross area, and we have been welcomed into the community here. That said, I work in Perth and like that too, although I can't really comment on the school situation. There probably isn't as much to do in Kinross for teenagers as there would be in larger towns (and we live pretty rurally, so there is even less to do here), but you can get to Perth, Edinburgh and Stirling pretty easily on the bus from Kinross, so there are options if your kids want to get about a bit more independently.

Hi Teacher in the Stirling area. You discounted Dunblane, but it is getting a better reputation (very recently) for providing a more inclusive experience for ASN pupils. Some placement requests being made on those grounds as a quieter more focussed environment was what parents were after. Could be anecdotal just teacher chat you'll know what feels right for your DD.

It is also almost full for some year groups so the almost automatic granting of placement requests is no more.

Wallace has improved significantly (I taught there long ago when it was very different) due to a great HT who has been in post for 8 years now and built a really stable team. The school of sport seems to create an environment where all success (not just academic) is valued. The catchment is very diverse , as PPs have said from some of the wealthiest areas in Scotland to some serious deprivation. That said the deprived areas are smaller than in big cities. I always thought that Wallace produced some very socially aware young people. Early setting ability wise is used so that might be something for you to consider. That can be a bit of a marmite topic.

From what I can see appearance (designer gear, full on make up from a young age) is more prevalent but I'd say on par with other Stirling schools, it's more Dunblane and McLaren that differ from the others .

Stirling High and St Modans haven't changed drastically remaining in a similar places in the tables. Tables are pretty useless , look for data which measures against virtual comparator. Both of these not far off full.

None of the others really relevant.

I did a wee stint in Kinross but the commute was to much shame as I really liked it.

You lot are so helpful :) @Lidlfix I’ve heard good things about KHS from a Perth teacher too but when we drove around the area over summer and we just didn’t see much and we’d like a bit of a hub where we live and also be able to walk to school.

I’ve also just found a house in Anstruther, any comments on that area for older children and teens as well as Waid Academy? You can see I’m still jumping around looking for a character home by the sea!

I'd look at Newport/Wormit/St Andrews.

Madras is an excellent secondary with a new campus opening next year.

If you're looking at n Berwick what about Haddington or Dunbar? The towns are growing like weeds if you are happy with a new build you should find something. Your thinking on schools I feel is quite English. In Scotland outside of inner city/deprived areas it's a bit more of a level playing field and most kids will do well with the right attitude and ability (and of course parental support)

Have you considered Prestwick/Troon/Ayr.

Good schools, the Air Traffic Control centre means a constant flow of English people moving in. 40 minutes from Glasgow Airport to get to
london; 5 minutes to Prestwick Airport.

Trains run 3 times an hour to Glasgow.

Another thought - have you joined the local FB groups in all the areas you're interested in? People often post when they're about to put a property on the market, for example someone has posted on Dunbar Online today about a 4/5 bed, 3 reception period house that's going to market soon. So might be good way for you to get an advance heads up if you need to plan viewing trips from down south.

Joining local Facebook groups could put you off! You'd think an area was plagued with dog fouling, rowdy youths dodgy blokes in vans and dubious planning applications, or maybe that's just the ones I'm in...

Kinross is a thriving community with lots of clubs and activities for all. Easy to get buses north to Perth/ south to Dunfermline or Edinburgh when the teenagers want to venture further. KHS has a good reputation and friends who have their kids there have been happy. Mixed community as lots of locals who have lived there all their lives or returned to have children there as well as people who have moved into the area - English accents are not unusual. Kinross primary is excellent.
Bertha Park is a new school so currently only has S1-S3 but will add a year group each year. They have had a few teething problems but I am sure that will settle in time.