Edinburgh Hopefuls: Primary school advice, please!

[NeedCrisps]

Hi all, we found a buyer for our house in England after our previous buyer pulled out at the last minute, so we’re in house hunting mode again. We are planning a visit to Edinburgh in the near future to have a good look around without tourist goggles on.

My son is 5, he’s a bright and happy child but seems to struggle a little when it comes to engaging with other children. We are looking for a primary school (State) which is gentle and nurturing rather than one which focuses on academic excellence. We are hoping to find a school which has a strong focus on inclusiveness and pastoral care.

Where we will buy will very much depend on the school (budget of £550-650K). Which primary schools would you consider to be most suitable, please? It would be great if it wasn’t too far out but it’s not a dealbreaker.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-85570801.html

This is also nice, as long as you don't mind heights :)

Same non denominational catchments as before but different catholic ones.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-85570801.html

Also I would echo what people have said about private schools. They have more staff and better wraparound care so if you have concerns it might be worth to compromise on the house and use your budget for schooling?
We are state and like it, but they are stretched and a lot of the popular ones are overcrowded.

Provision for additional needs can be very variable in the private sector.

I have friends who have jumped ship back to the state system to get better support for children with additional needs.

Walking distance to the station and private parking for 600K is a big ask.
Ditch the parking and you could get something nice (likely to be a main door flat rather than a house for that price) . Need a driveway and you are pushing it.

Merchiston might work - there is a project bungalow in Ashley in your budget. But the secondary is Tynecastle which isn't very desirable. Close to watsons and walkable to Heriots if that tickled your fancy later.

espc.com/property/23-ashley-gardens-edinburgh-eh11-1rw/35877289?sid=464764

Other place possible worth a look would be west end. You wouldn't get parking but on street often works well (I used to live there). School is often Flora's (which is good) and Broughton which people seem iffy about but local knowledge suggests is fine. Or you can walk to ESMS, the Academy or Heriot's.

It's my favourite part of town. Quiet and residential but very central. So I'm biased. Not sure if you know about the North vs. South Edinburgh divide. People tend to stick to the side of the city that they know. I really tried to move to South Edinburgh as it would have been better for work but eventually realised that I kept rejecting property as I wanted to stay North. My brother and his DP did the same process and my South Edinburgh raised friend found the same in reverse... so if your DP has a link with the city this might influence things a lot!

espc.com/property/18gf-clarendon-crescent-edinburgh-eh4-1pu/35878353?sid=421785

Preston Street less popular than Sciennes but seems to be ok from (academic) friends whose kids go there. Newington is nice and has some nice housing stock. Slightly more than 30mins to the station on foot and again, mostly on street parking. At your budget likely to be a bit of house rather than a whole house but they are pretty palatial.

If you are wfh in that clients would come to your house, a location with parking would be very desirable! Edinburgh really is a small city, what is suburban here is often still very close to the centre.

Also bear in mind that property goes well over asking price generally if it’s desirable. 10 percent over at least. Sealed bids are very common at a closing date.

Maybe renting first would be an idea? It would be more disruptive short term, but if you didn't like the area or school it would give you an easier way out.

Also with Christmas fast approaching the housing market will probably go into hibernation soon. We bought over winter and really struggled to find things that we liked.

You guys are just lovely, lots of useful information to take in. I will have to speak to my husband about parking; I've told him a garage/driveway is never going to happen for £650K if he wants the bustle of the city close by. But you make a good point, @Slightlybrwnbanana, surburbia in Edinburgh is probably very different to zones 5/6 in London.

Thanks for the links, @WaxOnFeckOff and also for the recommendation of Roseburn Primary - I loved the first link you sent. And you too, @opinionatedfreak! I didn't know about the North/South divide, sounds similar to North/South of the river divide down in London :) I'm okay with a flat/part of a house, because they seem pretty spacious. But a garden would be a bonus (ideally not a communal one). @Callisto1, we can't rent because we need to sort out the mortgage soonish because my husband loathes his current job and wants to switch to contracting - which will mean problems securing a mortgage. So things are a bit time sensitive, adding an unnecessary dimension of urgency to the proceedings!

We will be visiting within the next two weeks, fingers crossed.

Come out to East Lothian! 20 min train to Ed and beautiful beaches and very nice schools

Ok so if your benchmark is London then suburbia would be more like zone 2.

The bus network is very comprehensive and it's easy to get to the centre even if you're a bit further out. We live around 1h walk from centre and can get there in under 30 min if the traffic is not crazy.

I guess the drawback is that you don't have cafes and shops on your doorstep at least not south where we live.

I’m very very suburban and I’m 30min by bus or bike from the centre (bit more in rush hour). I’m also a half hour walk to the hills outside the city.
It cannot be compared to London suburbia.

@Treatedlikeamaid haha no, I’m confused enough already without adding Mid Lothian to the mix! @museumum, are there shops where you are? As in library/cafe/charity shops etc?

@Callisto1, gosh suburbia in Edinburgh would be zone 2?? Using London as a benchmark I was thinking I wouldn’t want to live beyond zone 2/3. We’re city people, we lived in Camden (London) for years. We’ve been in the Midlands for the last 5 years. Big house in the suburbs with big garden (a Godsend during lockdown tbf) but it hasn’t been a great fit for us. I miss being able to walk to bookshops, and to cafes for tea and cake.

North Berwick is lovely, you can walk to cafes etc easily but it is expensive. Train station with good links to Edinburgh. You need to spend at least a week driving around and checking things out. It is very different to London here.

Stockbridge would be a good fit for you. Lots going on, cafes, bars, a great library, good school, but houses with gardens are extortionate. A flat would be a good option though if you can bear a shared garden. Inverleith Park is nearby and the Botannics are a short walk. There is a weekly market too!

Edinburgh has lots of mini bits, small local cafes here and there - there's Goldenacre in Trinity, Corstorphine has loads, Morningside too. You wouldn't want my house OP (ex council) but you could buy it for 250 with garden and off street parking, 30 mins door to door on bus to Princes Street and lots of local cafes (cafes and charity shops, that's all some places are these days!)
Oh and Davidson's Mains has local cafes etc, that's next to the Royal High. You could get a nice house nearby in Silverknowes with your budget. Depends if you want Victorian - Trinity/Stockbridge kind of thing, then would probably be a flat.

I would emphasise that Edinburgh has a great and comprehensive bus system so wouldn't worry about the 30min walk to the station. I live in the suburbs and very near a station but not in Edinburgh.
I think Royal High School might be a good fit, academic but nurturing. Also Trinity Academy or Firhill although Firhill's catchment might be too suburban.
You could also have a look at Broughton as the area probably ticks your boxes. The school is very diverse.

[quote NeedCrisps]**@Treatedlikeamaid* haha no, I’m confused enough already without adding Mid Lothian to the mix! @museumum*, are there shops where you are? As in library/cafe/charity shops etc?

@Callisto1, gosh suburbia in Edinburgh would be zone 2?? Using London as a benchmark I was thinking I wouldn’t want to live beyond zone 2/3. We’re city people, we lived in Camden (London) for years. We’ve been in the Midlands for the last 5 years. Big house in the suburbs with big garden (a Godsend during lockdown tbf) but it hasn’t been a great fit for us. I miss being able to walk to bookshops, and to cafes for tea and cake.[/quote]
I’m a 20min walk from a proper full street of shops and cafes. I have a library, newsagent and one cafe in 5 min walk.
But my house was a lot less than £650. You could live closer to the shops for that (but might not get parking).

@Runningdownthathill Stockbridge does indeed sound good but like you say, prices are crazy high. We only have three days, so they’ll be busy ones! I really hope there won’t Covid won’t complicate things too much.

@Slightlybrwnbanana, I’ve been looking at Morningside, but don’t know much about Trinity and Corstorphine, I’ll get googling thanks. @weebarra, I’ll add those schools and Broughton to my list, thank you! @museumum, what area is the ‘full street of shops’, please?

Also, what’s the area around Preston Street Primary like, please?

There are good schools in nearly every area of Edinburgh (also add, I work in a school in one of the roughest estates and it's support for dc and families is fantastic too, there's a lot of extra funding for these schools so they can be great) the inspection reports are available online for Scottish primaries but as above many Edinburgh schools suffer in any tables due to the high number that go to private.

Thanks @midnightstar66. I’m not fussed about tables/inspection reports tbh. I have always prized nurturance over academic excellence, even more so now given the possibility that my son may be on the spectrum.

To be honest the fashionable/trendy schools being mentioned possible aren't necessarily the best fit for what you want. Gillespies and boroughmuir are academic schools and looking to keep that reputation soenties at the detriment of the less able pupils. And the primaries won't necessarily have the best ASL support. Schools like wardie and trinity in the north of the city might be better suited but still very close/walking distance to the centre, even granton which has absolutely amazing support for SEN pupils but definitely wouldn't be suggested by many in mumsnet. You'd even get your garden and maybe even a drive in these areas too.

Try portobello- lovely coffee shops, charity's shops and local shops. Beach right on your door step. Parking in most streets is fine. 20 minutes by bus into town. Decent schools. Also willowbrae or duddingston. Right next to holyrood Park, a wee walk to portobello and about 15 minutes to town on the express bus.

Portobello definitely a good shout. Towerbank is a very good school but I think the biggest in Edinburgh, if not it's definitely one of them - might not suit all. Lovely area although a bit further out of the centre.

@midnightstar66, this is just the kind of thing I need to know, thank you!

@Makedo, I’ve added Portobello to the list Are there any schools in particular you’d recommend?

@NeedCrisps morningside to Bruntsfield for me.