Moving home to West Lothian from England

[DecisionTime14]

Hello, I wonder if anyone is able to give me some advice, please.
I am a single parent & making the HUGE decision to move home after 20 years living in England.
I'm moving two of my teenage children with me (oldest is at uni) my daughter is 14 & my son is 17! The hard part is moving them, I need to get it right! Moving due to marriage break up :-(
I need advice about secondary schools and areas to live in please.

• At the moment I am looking at West Calder High School, The James Young & Broxburn Academy. Any experience of these schools, good or bad?
• Whats West Calder like to live in? Any really terrible areas in Livingston to avoid?
• Has anyone moved teenagers from England to West Lothian????

Any advice or thoughts will be gratefully received :-)

What a difficult situation. Purely from a view point of percentage of pupils that leave school with 5 highers then West Calder & The James Young achieve better than Broxburn but I have no idea about pastoral care etc.

To be honest it’s a tough age to move for both of your DC. Is this an immediate move or something that will happen next year? What months are DCs birthdays in? Your daughter is probably currently S3 age so academically should be ok as S3 is a non exam year - but it would be useful to ask the prospective schools when they start the Nat 5 courses. If they do them over two years then that may need to be considered though many of them only start in S4 or approx a month before the end of the S3 year.

Your son will be be tough to move, is he mid way through his A levels, is he sitting them next year? In Scotland depending on when his birthday falls he will have left school or be in S6, what are his plans for after leaving school as college may be a better route than moving to a high school at 17 in his final year.

Sorry can’t advise on West Lothian as a place to live.

Hi celtiethree - thank you for your helpful response. Its an incredibly hard decision but have to do it for financial reasons and to have the support of my family (parents in Bathgate) Its an immediate move, hoping to be there by January 2021 - dependant on getting the job I've applied for (fingers crossed)

Both my DC have just had their birthdays in October. My son started his A'levels in Sep this year - so only 3 months in. He wants to join the police and intends to apply at 18 - but I would like him to do some further education first and gain some life experience, Id rather he joined in his 20s but the website says they recruit from 18!

I think my daughter will be in S3 and the one school that has replied to my email didn't think it would be too difficult for her to slot in. My son is definitely the issue

Hopefully others will be along to offer advice but the way forward that I see for your son would to ask the school if he can join s5 (he may be the oldest but not significantly, many Jan/Feb birthdays defer and increasing Oct to Dec defer). Rather than sit the highers next year sit them in S6. Or focus on a few to sit next year and the others in S6.

Or! Depending what his A levels are join S6 and see what cross over content there is between his a levels and highers and sit those 3 subjects if possible next year. Your son won’t have enough highers for Uni but would have enough qualifications to gain access to an hnc/hnd course which would lead to the police or university.

What subjects is your son taking at a level.

Me again, you may find this useful for your son:

www.edinburghcollege.ac.uk/courses/Enterprise-and-Commerce/Police%20Studies%20HNC%20(SCP)/TH1SCH7A20

There are quite a few others colleges dotted around the country that offer similar. Entry requirements are one higher plus five nat 5s, it mentions progression award under the Scottish system but I’m not sure how this would work if you’ve just moved into the system. There is a list of relevant subjects for consideration at higher level. Might be worth calling a few colleges to discuss best way in for sept 2021 start?

Thank you, I appreciate that. I will have a look over the weekend :-)

For your son I’d suggest looking at what his options are at Edinburgh college. Assuming you’re aiming somewhere with bus/train access to Edinburgh. 17 is a pretty odd time to start a new school in Scotland as students generally finish at 17-18 rather than 18-19 as in England.

I am in the area and love it (I’m from Edinburgh). Don’t know about the schools but asked a friend - her kids are at James Young and she finds it a good, supportive school. She was less complimentary about Broxburn. Livingston has two train stations with easy access to Edinburgh and Glasgow - live near one of them if you want to travel out with West Lothian easily. Bathgate also has a train station (as you will know if your parents are there), as does West Calder. The bus service across the area is good too. Livingston and Bathgate are both quite big towns - so some nice bits, some not so nice.

Museumum - thank you. I will look at the colleges in Edinburgh over the weekend. I did look at West Lothian College but they dont have any suitable courses starting in January and I don't want him to have to wait until August. I may consider asking the school about keeping him back a year (although sure he will hate that idea)

Purplecatshopaholic - thank you so much for the info about schools, that's so good to know that your friend's children are happy at James Young. I am hoping to buy in Livingston or West Calder I think, definitely want to be near a train station as I LOVE Edinburgh. I am waiting to hear from someone who's son attends Bathgate Academy

Are you moving during this academic year? He couldn't catch up from now in time to sit exams in May. He could join classes now and then do the full year next year - but it might be demotivating to do this, depends on his personality and work ethic.

We started our higher courses last May, the only way it could work for this year is if the a-level content covered what his classmates have already done for higher, I have no idea if this is likely. And he will need to do more highers than a-levels of course.

West Calder is nice, maybe not as scenic as mid Calder but house prices are reasonable and the commute to Edinburgh no time atall. West Calder great location for the coast and Glasgow.

There is something about West Calder that I can't put my finger on but I would live there.

Thanks all!!! We've decided the best solution is for my son to continue with A'Levels but online with a tutor. Just going to be too difficult to slot him into a school for Highers and subjects are totally different too!

I am hoping to get up (as soon as this ridiculous and unnecessary complete English lockdown is lifted) so I can look around West Calder, Mid Calder & Livingston and view West Calder High School and James Young!. Also decided to rent for first 4-6 months rather than rushing into buying without refamiliarising myself with the areas!

Feeling a wee bit calmer about it all now :-) :-) :-)

Aw good news Decision. I also have friends with kids at West Calder High, who also rate it. WC and Livi areas are both nice to live in - I know them both well. Mid Calder/East Calder defo worth a look too. Good luck with it all.

I think that works well with the exams but it will be harder to settle into the area and make new friends without going to school.
I know some of the privates do a levels, though super £££

Only private schools in Edinburgh that do a full range of A Levels are Fettes and Merchiston Castle. Both very expensive even for day pupils.

Oh absolutely very expensive. Though I assume tutors able to provide the full a-level course (rather than supplementing what you learn in school) would be expensive too. You
will also need to actually be submitted for the exam, and I'm not sure what you'd do if there is a practical element or assignment as part of any of the courses. It's really not a good time to be moving at all though I assume the OP doesn't have a lot of choice in the matter given circumstances. I'm sure they'll find a solution.

I don’t know anyone that’s used it or if you can join after you’ve started A levels but what about Interhigh for your son?

check out the online schools OP. You might find something like MyOnlineSchooling or interhigh cheaper than a tutor

Hi @DecisionTime14. I can't answer any of your questions, but just popped in to say that I moved up to Scotland from southern England as a single parent with two daughters, after a bruising break-up. I'm in Edinburgh, and that was nearly 20 years ago. It was the best decision I ever made. I haven't regretted it for a moment. House prices were a lot less then, so I was able to move to the outer fringe of Edinburgh. I have many friends and colleagues based in West Lothian, including bringing up families there, and they all seem happy with it. Good luck with your move.