Schools in Dunfermline

[Squicknick]

Hello. We're moving to Dunfermline and looking for primary and secondary school recommendations, ideally Catholic. Can anyone give me any insight into St Margaret's primary or St Columba's High School, which would be our catchment I think. Thanks!

@ChocolateDeficitDisorder thx so much for your input smile. Want to ask further as my Son is now 16 and will reach 17 in coming August, should I wait until He finishes his GCSE in England or should I apply now with a secondary high in Scot eg Queen Anne High? Do I need to get address proof or anything to do the application? I do want Him to get more time adapting to new environment so I don't mind he get into lower form, if that is possible? thx again.

Technically, since he's coming up 17, he is in the age group to go into 6th year. He should definitely sit his GCSEs in England as he wouldn't be able to swap to Nat 5 courses at this stage.

I don't think he'll get to opportunity to join a lower year as he's middle of the age range for his year group (runs from March 1 - Feb 28). He would probably have to join in 6th and final year, but that's not a problem as Higher exams are single year courses and there will be plenty of other 6th years taking them too. Four good passes is generally the required amount for University courses, depending on the Uni.

But do bear in mind that our schools go back earlier than those in England, they break up at the end of June and go back in mid-August. Remember to factor that into your move.

Weirdly, a good time to start at a Scottish school is often the 2nd week in June after the exams are over and the holiday weekend is past. This is the point when the classes who are returning after the summer will start their new curriculum so it would be a good chance to meet his new classmates and get to know some people to hang out with over the summer.

@ChocolateDeficitDisorder thx so much indeed. will consolidate all your useful information and sort out school list. hope can settle this soonest. btw finding property is uneasy

Happy to help with property questions. I've been in the area 20 years and keep an eye on the property markets.

Oh u are my angel 😇 @ChocolateDeficitDisorder . I am looking into ky11, ky12 mainly because of vicinity to schools and ease of going to Edinburgh. But no idea how long we shall stay in Dunfermline cos it all depends on Son’s schooling and path ahead. Also checking with Glenrothes, Stirling and Falkirk but i never been to those three places. I am single mom with my Son, new to Scot but we love nature and trail walk. Should i go for a property that secure a place for my son first ? We enjoy living in quiet environment, but do enjoy big supermarket shopping and chill out in nice cafe. Any hints to where should i go?

I'd go for the property first, I don't think you'll have a problem getting your son into whichever school he wants to go to.

Dunfermline isn't a big place and none of the 4 schools are very far from the town centre - if you live fairly centrally he'll be able to get to any of them.

What's your budget and what kind of home do you want? Bear in mind that we have an 'offers over' system here, so the prices you see are between 10-20% less than the price you'll have to pay to get the house.

Also checking with Glenrothes, Stirling and Falkirk but i never been to those three places.

I would choose Dunfermline or Stirling over the other 2

I would choose Dunfermline or Stirling over the other 2

Me too.

Glenrothes has very little charm, it's a new town full of roundabouts and Falkirk can be a wee bit rough in places.

Dunfermline is in a good location to access Edinburgh, Perth, Dundee and Glasgow, none are more than an hour's drive away. Stirling is obviously very convenient for the whole of central Scotland - Bridge of Allan is particularly nice.

I have checked few houses in Dunfermline and emailed Dunfermline High School and they told me none of them fall within their catchment except one. I am looking for house with budget below 100K, best no need to do any fix up inside as I have no idea how to handle this. I drive so living outskirt is not a big deal, what I want is safety and friendly neighbours, also within catchment area of schools.

You will looking at flats then for under 100k.
That's a tiny budget for central Scotland

I googled many days and nights and are still in fond of Dunfermline, might be because I had been there few hours last Oct and found this place quite nice. Never been to Glenrothes but found a nice house within my budget there, Stirling I will consider because its voted best place to live in Scot. the one fall within Dunfermline High School is out of my budget which is listed 140K....

Remember @graceandmercy that Scotland has an "offers over" system.
So you should expect to offer at least 10% over the asking price and in popular areas it's nearer 20%.
So you need to be looking at properties at o/o 85-90k

Every house will have a Home Report you can access and that will give you an idea of value of house.
Zoopla sold prices can tell you what last house in street sold for.
Apologies if you know all this already

@partritus thx for your information which enrich me much indeed. I am considering one which is 85K but internally need lots of fix up and I wonder if I can handle it by... is ky11 a nice area too?

Have you looked in Rosyth I imagine it would be a bit cheaper and children from there went to Dunfermline High (years ago - you would need to check that's still the case)
Anywhere touted as a great place to live in Scotland will be the expensive areas. That doesn't mean there aren't nice places that are cheaper, but they won't be fashionable if you see what I mean.

Remember you can submit a placing request to any school that he can travel to (school will not provide transport) and at 6th year entry, it's most likely to be granted. You register with your catchment school and then submit a request to the school you want usually via a form on the council website.

The benefit of Stirling is that most schools are really good but there really isn't anything in your budget and properties are selling within days. You could also look at Larbert/Stenhousemuir. Closer to falkirk but on the train line and has local countryside too.

regarding submission of placing request, do I need address proof of any kind like utility bill or title deeds on hand? cos I am still in search of property and those documents are yet to come....

Have you looked in Rosyth I imagine it would be a bit cheaper and children from there went to Dunfermline High (years ago - you would need to check that's still the case)

No, as of last year all the Rosyth schools feed into Inverkeithing. Catchments were redrawn to take account of new housing settlements and pressure on local schools, particularly Woodmill as it was to take the Duloch pupils.

KY11 is a large area which is very variable and covers 3 of the 3 schools, only KY12 is Queen Anne's catchment.

Your 100k budget is more likely to get you a house in Kelty/Cowdenbeath/Lochgelly which would put you closer to Beath and Lochgelly High Schools.

@binBandit I googled Stirling and found one within my budget, but want to ask is Stirling High School good? and surrounding environment ? I have never been there...

If you chose to send your son to St Columbas RC High School, there are free buses running from all the West Fife towns and villages as it's the only RC school in the area.

St Columbas RC High School a good one?

All the schools in Stirling are decent with probably the exception of Bannockburn which possibly has a less school supportive catchment, it might be a very good school for it's pupils but does less well academically.

It's a small city but plenty to do and in a great location with good transport to Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Thx @BinBandit as soon as I went online to search Stirling and found one within my budget, its gone in a sudden... so sad

if I plan to come to have property viewing, is there any uber/bolt available ? or should I hire a car instead? any suggestion/recommendation? thank you all.

There is no uber and I have no idea what bolt is so that's probably no too - certainly for Stirling and I'd presume the same for Dunfermline. There are private hire taxi's at the station but I find them expensive on the rare occasions I've used them even for local journeys. A car would give you a lot more flexibility as for recommendations, I have no idea but will depend on how/where you intend to start from? i.e. airport in Edinburgh or Glasgow or train station in one of your choices?