Edinburgh Academy or George Heriot

[oasishelen]

We are going to move to Edinburgh in this summer, my daughter (13 years old) received those two schools offer. Strong acadmic is our priority, also the school envoirment is more important.
Please give me some advice , which one should we choose? Really need your help.

@ForsythiaInBloom Agree that ESMS facilities are excellent based on the virtual tour and this is definitely one plus point. I suppose EA does not have a swimming pool (from the website but I may be wrong?) which is important for your DC. May I ask what makes you feel that EA is less academic...gut instinct, students' behaviour etc.? Have your DC started at ESMS and if so, how's your experience so far? Do the 2 campuses have their own extra-curricular facilities such as sports hall, pool, music theatre etc.? I believe DS might have to commute to the pitches at the MES since he will be based in the SMC campus for P7 and above.

Only one swimming pool between MES and SMC which is at the SMC campus on Queensferry Rd, so Senior girls have to go there to swim. P4-P7 pupils are all at Queensferry Terrace anyway.

Hockey pitches are at both campuses, rugby and cricket pitches (and additional hockey pitches) at Inverleith playing fields, tennis courts at MES. Huge gym halls and gyms at both campuses. Home economics only available at MES campus

EA felt less academic than ESMS. Says the right things about academic rigour, but lacked the ambition to stretch the best. We came from a hot house London day school but wanted a less febrile academic environment anyway, but DC1 and 2 are both very bright. DC3 less academic. ESMS suited them all well.

Mine have settled very well at ESMS. They are stretched academically, absolutely love the sports and are well supported with pastoral care. All are (very) young for their school years because of birth dates and moving from the English system, plus the way the Scottish system encourages flexibility to defer the younger pupils in any year which many parents do to advantage their child.

ESMS has a lovely focus on music and I was impressed with the music and instrumental teaching. Sadly, mine are tone deaf and too focused on sports to benefit much, despite our encouragement.

@innerdance my son just started at George Heriots and we applied blind from overseas, never having visited. It has been really wonderful. We were very happy with the international school that he was in (he'd been in the same school from age 2 to 15) and wasn't until we had Heriots to compare it to that we realised how flawed it was in comparison!
The staff have gone above and beyond to help him adjust to the SQA, the other pupils have been very inclusive and welcoming, despite him coming in new at S5. There are high academic standards but he has not felt pressured or hot housed, just supported to achieve his best. I had expected pressure to join in ECAs etc. but there isn't - there is plenty on offer but certainly at my son's stage they can opt in or out as much as they like.

From my extensive experience of these schools having a son who has struggled and moved a few times ! - Edinburgh Academy much posher - lots of rich bankers, Range Rovers, dads all went to the school but great location in town. Heriots much more down to earth but super-academic, ESMS and Watsons much bigger so have better facilities. In my experience Watsons is kinder and better for kids that need extra support.

Edinburgh state schools also only do a half day on Friday, which forces one parent to work part time. If you’re on a decent wage and only have one child, it’s not such a big jump to go from getting paid for a 4 day week and free education to getting a full time salary and paying school fees.

@Ramanama

From my extensive experience of these schools having a son who has struggled and moved a few times ! - Edinburgh Academy much posher - lots of rich bankers, Range Rovers, dads all went to the school but great location in town. Heriots much more down to earth but super-academic, ESMS and Watsons much bigger so have better facilities. In my experience Watsons is kinder and better for kids that need extra support.

I totally agree with this. My kids have been to quite a few of these schools themselves through the years and this is my exact impression of them. Watson's was our favourite, it's a warm, lovely place.

@Mountaingoat12 if the money earned for one day a week on a "decent wage" is not a big jump from a private education, either private school is a lot cheaper than I thought, or we move on very different circles!

How much is a low end private school? £10k per term? £30k a year? So if that was one day a week, to you, a "decent wage" is somewhere in the region of £150k? I actually thought I was on a decent wage till I read that.

The early finish on Friday can be a bit of a pain but it really does not force one parent to work part time, due to the existence of childcare.

@Namechangeforthis88

Private school is a lot cheaper than you think .

Watsons ( NOT low end) is £8-13k per year ( not per term ).

Excuse my ignorance. I don't quite understand why people are prepared to spend a fortune on education.

It is often because the state offering is so poor. Where I live, only 1 high school in the entire Council area is in the top 100 (of around 300) schools in Scotland. Thankfully we're in the catchment for the one that is shooting up in the tables, and a change of management about 3 years ago has really turned round the ethos of the school. Until that happened, we were looking at going private.

Just curious to know. If your child is bright surely they will succeed regardless of the educational establishment they are sent to?

My child is bright and would do ok wherever she was, but school is about more than just education. Because she is bright she can easily coast through school and probably come out with decent grades. What she lacks is self-confidence, the desire to take risks, and with her disability there are social aspects to consider too. We work with her on these things at home but she is also 12 and tends to think her parents know nothing.

Putting aside the fact that Watsons is actually one of the cheaper private schools in Edinburgh (by low end I mean cheaper, not worse).

So if £13,000 p.a. equates to dropping one day a week, mountain goat reckons a "decent wage" is around £65k.

Would you say that private schools families in a bubble of privilege?

Or would you say they have a rounded and well informed picture of what life is like for the average family in Scotland?

So clearly the "decent wage" remark rattled my cage (I think rightly so) but apologies for the de-rail.

I think if you want to go private, go private, there's no need to kid on you had no choice because state schools finish early on Fridays, plenty of people on lower incomes manage that situation. You just want to send your kid to private school. That's up to you. Own it. That's all.

It’s because there is a huge variety in state schools. They are, in the main, underfunded, beset with behavioural problems, narrow curriculum, poor facilities and poor pastoral care. They are like a factory pushing children along a conveyor belt rather than taking the time to develop the whole child. Of course there are some excellent state schools but in the main they are very weak. You seem to be equating exam results with education. Education is (very obviously) far wider than exam results. It’s a terrible shame if you haven’t realised that. I guess it depends on what you mean by “succeed”. Most of the kids at my state school left with poor confidence, self awareness, exam results, and had little choice but to get an admin job somewhere. I spoke with many of them years later and they were very bitter about how they had been left entirely unprepared for the world of work and had been failed by the school. As a result of everything they weren’t given, they had no choice but to enter into a dead end job (their words) and were miserable. They certainly hadn’t had a school take the care and time to really find out what it is that makes them really special and help them to hone that. That’s what people pay for because the independent sector (some exceptions aside) is great at all of those things. Just go and see 5 or 6 schools (state and independent) and you’ll see this with your own eyes.

Ha ha, state schools finishing at Friday lunchtime doesn't force a parent to work part time! Plenty of after school clubs

That totally depends on the school - the state primary near me has very limited availability according to friends with kids there. Mine are at an Edinburgh private school - largely because I think the curriculum for excellence is dire - and the wrap around & holiday care is excellent and always available. The state Friday half day means the kids finish at 12!