Relocating to Scotland

[annak1975]

Hi! Am in need of some advice please! We currently live in Hong Kong and are planning a move to Scotland due to husbands job next summer. He will be based close to Gleneagles so we are considering living in Stirling, BoA or Dunblane. We have a 15 year old daughter and 12 year son. They currently attend a private British school (english curriculum) here in HK and have never lived in the UK before. I am super nervous about the finding the right school/life as a teenager in Scotland as well as finding a really good place to live to make the transition easier. Ie, after 10 years in Hong Kong I don't think we could live too rural ;)
We have currently got places secured for them at Dollar Academy but wouldn't rule out local schools if very good. I guess as we've lived abroad forever they have only attended private schools so we automatically resorted to thinking this is what we need to carry on with - or at least an environment that feels similar to them. And as my DD only has 2 years left of school we really want the transition to be as smooth and easy as possible.

With DH working close to Gleneagles and DC potentially going to school in Dollar we are thinking Stirling, BoA or Dunblane would be good places to live. Considering we have a 15 year old (and soon another teenager) which of the above would you recommend? I have also read that Dunblane High School is very good. Would you recommend this school over commuting to Dollar if we lived in Dunblane? Or would it be better living in Stirling which is a bit bigger with teens? Do a lot of children from Dollar commute from these areas? Would welcome any feedback on Dollar versus Dunblane HS and which you think might fit best for a couple of expat kids... Oh so many questions and am riddled with nerves leaving our life abroad but excited at the same time. Just want to make sure we don't get the move wrong in terms of where to live and where we send the kids to school as really only have a few years left and would love it if they were happy years! Forgive the waffle but my head is spinning.
Thanks for any advice :)

I have a relative that went to Dollar and grew up in Bridge if Allan so will ask these questions.

I will say that he adored Dollar - and loved growing up where he did. I would imagine this would work well as lots of kids in B of A attend Dollar

Equally I have friends in Dunblane whose kids attend the local school. Lovely community and great school.

I like Stirling a lot but probably wouldn’t choose it for teens but this is probably ignorance in my part as it’s a nice place. I just prefer local towns.

I think you're going to have a serious culture shock going from HK - BOA/S etc.

You might be better off in Glasgow West End, though that commute will be a bugger.

Have you thought about the bigger cities? BOA is lovely, Dunblane is busier - Stirling is a typical uni city but not a huge amount to do otherwise.

@serialreturner Many thanks for your response. You hit the nail on the head, it's the culture shock I'm worried about! We previously considered Edinburgh as know it a bit more than Glasgow but then ruled it out due to commute for DH. Think all this will require more thinking. The worst part is that we can't travel to visit any areas/schools due to the current situation with the pandemic so having to do it all virtually. This is why I really appreciate all replies and feedback :)

@calledyoulastnightfromglasgow Thank you for that info. Glad he has been so happy with Dollar. Good to know! And B of A is a lovely little place. Just not sure it will suit us as a family coming from Hong Kong! Appreciate the feedback.

I don’t know if boarding is an option for your family but if so possibly St Leonard’s in St Andrews would be somewhere to look at. The town may suit the needs of your children, very trendy place and not too far from the areas you may choose to settle down or if boarding not an option then actually living in St Andrews would give your husband around an hours commute to work.
All the best with you move.

Don't underestimate how good it is in a time of a pandemic to live in a less densely populated area. I think sticking with private sector would be a less risky transition for your eldest. I would attempt to minimise commute distance for everyone but favour the children. My children switched from private sector abroad to state schools in Scotland but had the whole of senior school to play with, so if it hadn't worked out we could have rethought. Good luck. Having a school accept them before you arrive, is always a plus point, in either sector.

Have you had a look at Strathallan? I think they follow the English curriculum. Ask them about bursaries if your funds are limited. Their sport facilities are great.

Dunblane /BofA are both ok for teens. Both have a train station so that teens can get around. Lots of kids commute from both Dunblane/BofA to Dollar.

Are there particular interests/subjects your DC would like to continue as that might guide the choice of school.

There is also Morrisons in crieff and the new Fairview school in BofA but the latter is a bit of an unknown quantity.

Agree that having the station in BofA or Dunblane means that teens have good opportunity to pop to Glasgow or Edinburgh.

My DC went to Dunblane, it's a nice high achieving state school, but it's still a state school and might be a bit different to what your DC are used to.

If your DC are attending an English school in HK (Harrow by any chance or Shrewsbury?) and following the English curriculum, my advice would be to look very seriously at Glenalmond College or Strathallan School. Both are boarding schools with a good amount of day pupils and most importantly they follow the English curriculum. Both are also within very easy commute of Gleneagles or Auchterarder with busses put on by the schools.

I would not consider St. Leonard’s in St. Andrew’s as the kids would need to board as a commute anywhere from St. Andrew’s in the winter would be awful.

There is nowhere in commutable distance from Gleneagles that is going to compare in any way to HK. The fact that Gleneagles is so rural really limits your choices due to commuting in the winter. The best option if you want a city would be Perth (but it has more of a large town feel and is a bit run down in the city centre these days) as it would allow the DC to attend as day pupils to Glenalmond/Strathallan and allows your DH a reasonable commute.
With regards BofA, friend lives there and loves it. Her DD went to Dunblane High and really enjoyed it. She moved there for 5th year (lower 6th) so probably the same as your DD and fitted in very well.

If you decide to continue with Dollar then BofA, Dunblane or Stirling would all work well and they all have access to a train station if the DC want to go further afield for any reason. Good luck

A Scottish state school is very different from an international private school following the English curriculum. Scottish schools don't provide the "sixth form experience". There's just 1 year of 6th form, and a lot of pupils just see it as a relaxing year of not doing very much, as the exams which qualify you for a Scottish university are in the 5th year. There aren't many hours of teaching.
If you want your daughter to have that 2 year 6th form experience, go for Glenalmond or Strathallan. Both have a lot of international pupils who board. Both are very expensive.
Dunblane is very quiet. Bridge of Allan isn't terribly lively either, but the university is there and it's on the edge of Stirling. Or you could live in Perth or in Crieff, assuming you don't want to live in Auctherarder, as you don't mention it.

Have you considered living in Perth as it is at least a reasonable sized town although it will still be a culture shock from HK! You could look at Kilgraston school for your daughter.

Kilgraston does the Scottish curriculum

A cheaper alternative to Strathallan or Glenalmond (both extremely expensive) would be to go to Morrisons in Crieff and do the Scottish curriculum. You'd have the benefit of being at a day school - so more local children to make friends with. Likewise with Dollar. School fees are much cheaper and your children would leave school 1 year earlier, so cheaper all round.

My DC went to Dollar ( my daughter finished this year). There is quite a large contingent of pupils from various overseas countries, so your children, not having been educated in the UK before, would not be an unusual occurrence.

We live in Stirling and my DC took the bus to Dollar. There are numerous pick up/ drop off points along the way, so it is not a difficult commute.

All I can say is we were very happy with both the education and the extra curricular life offered at Dollar. If we had it to do again, we would make the same decision.

We made the move to Stirling from
Dubai not that long ago so similar in terms of culture shock! We've loved the slower pace of life - there are lots of things that take some getting used to but also loads of bonuses such as easy access to outdoor pursuits and long walks. You'll be amazed at the affordability and variety of 'extra curriculars' and community events around. I'm also constantly pleasantly surprised by the helpfulness and kindness of strangers here.
Ive no children but my work has solely been with international schools over the last 8 years so I understand the offering/expectations very well. I'd agree that a private school is the way to go if you can afford it, just to ease the transition. I've heard good things about Dollar Academy.
I'd suggest that living somewhere near the university so BoA/Causewayhead would be ideal in terms of having an international population around. Having said that, Dunblane is a whole 5 minutes away and a lovely town too.
All the best for the move and don't hesitate to be in touch if I can answer any more questions or help further.

St Leonard's in st Andrews is brilliant. They are one of the few schools in Scotland to do the international baccalaureate (the others being fettes and George Watson's in Edinburgh). Pupils there also get to use many of the St Andrews university facilities and benefit from the international atmosphere. They can even play golf on the old course! It's boarding and day. Many of the St Andrews academics live in big houses with lots of space in cupar and the kids get the school bus to st Andrews.. It's about 15 min. Lots of clean beautiful beaches, great clubs for children , look up the East fife Tri club, sailing club at Dundee. Plus the east fife had it's own micro climate so it's much sunnier and has less rain than the rest of Scotland. Not far to commute to gleneagles. Good luck! Don't be worried about leaving HK, it's a fantastic opportunity! From a climate change point of view... Probably good to move to a big house in Scotland sooner rather than later... Prices are already on the up!

Strathallan is great all 3 of my kids went - fantastic facilities and one of the few schools whose numbers still seem good. A few other schools looking shabby and are clearly short of cash. My kids were day but buses to local locations left well after 7pm so the place is always busy. Think well over the majority are boarders so it’s full days which is what I wanted. Perthshire has such lovely places to live nearby. Hope you get settled

I would not move a 15 yo to the Scottish curriculum unless I did not mind about them not achieving their potential as it's too late for a fair chance, both state and private schools have pros and cons in general and lots of people do report Dunblane is great but your 15 year old is going to need maximum support to do exams and transition at that stage and that would rule out state for me if I could afford private.

A more open question for the 12 year old as they have time to adjust.