Secondary State North Lanarkshire Schools

[Mumsyo]

Hi there what are, your reviews on Secondary state schools in North Lanarkshire? In particular Dalziel, St Ambrose High, Chryston High Schools? My catchment area, is, Coatbridge HS but not keen as not even in top 100 best school rating. Many thanks

Thanks for the heads up, im looking forward to the free bus travel for under 22's with young scot card that starts in jan 2022.it will help with regards to transport for many youngsters.
I need to visit the schools prior to making a decision&phone them up if DD likely to get a place especially if you can only put one placing request in.
I know that at the end of the day I will have to wait and that the outcome is out of my control!

@Mumsyo

I understand all schools have good and bad points. We dont mind pick and drop offs. There are specific reasons for why we dont wish to enrol in the catchment school.

My DD has been to private school last 5 years so ideally want something to match academically what she is used to. The fees are too high to consider private for secondary unfortunately.

Thats fantastic that kids have done well regardless of what school they go to. Goes to show doesn't matter. Teachers are doing a grand job especially in these testing times and full credit to them!

Id just like to hear views on the state schools as ive never been to one myself. I was at a private school for secondary but times have changed so trying to research as much as possible on available options.

I'm not in NLC so can't help with schools there I'm afraid. Would it help to try and work out what you're truing to match to your DC's private school experience? For example, class sizes are likely to be bigger etc. So is it the pastoral side, outside space like playing fields, music or drama focus?

Forgive me if I've got the wrong end of the stick but since you're unlikely to get an absolute like for like perhaps it's good to focus on your personal priorities.

Actually that'll teach me to read the post, it's academically I see. Then I agree that I'm not sure where gig can actually work that out from. You might be better on a solid catchment school and sort out private tutors for any painful subjects

Gig = you

I dream of an edit function on here **

A school visit is unlikely to be possible at the moment. Nobody with the exception of pupils and staff are getting into schools at the moment. I haven't set foot in my son's school since Dec 2019. What is so wrong with your catchment school?

If you want a private school vibe then really only Dalziel High School fits your bill in my opinion.

Lenzie as well but that's ED.

My DD has been to private school last 5 years so ideally want something to match academically what she is used to.

I don't know about school your Dd is at but the majority of private schools in Scotland are academically selective and over 90% of leavers get 5 Highers and go on to university. As well as the obvious things like small class sizes the ability range is quite narrow.

There are VERY few state schools in Scotland that come anywhere near that as they take every child in the catchment regardless of ability.
There are a few exceptions like Jordanhill or Williamswood because they are in very affluent areas with house prices to match.

Sorry I don't know anything about NL schools but I would maybe think about what else is important to you in a school rather than just academic results.

Or consider moving.

Good luck

@Invisimamma

A school visit is unlikely to be possible at the moment. Nobody with the exception of pupils and staff are getting into schools at the moment. I haven't set foot in my son's school since Dec 2019. What is so wrong with your catchment school?

You can visit after school hours apparently when most staff and pupils have left🤷‍♀️ it would be extremely difficult to choose a school without visiting. We didn't like the catchment school hence looking at other options 😀

@PoloMintPatty

Actually that'll teach me to read the post, it's academically I see. Then I agree that I'm not sure where gig can actually work that out from. You might be better on a solid catchment school and sort out private tutors for any painful subjects

I still had to have private tutors even when I attended the private school this was for highers and standard grades(back in the days) I agree tuition for Nat4, 5 is, definitely an option if required

@alicesfavouritepen

If you want a private school vibe then really only Dalziel High School fits your bill in my opinion.

Lenzie as well but that's ED.

Thanks yes, Dalziel is definitely an option worth trying. A friend suggested , Lenzie&Bishopbriggs Academy but its a different local authority so more unlikely to get a place

It's pretty well impossible to get a place at Bishopbriggs/Lenzie from within East Dunbartonshire if you're not in catchment. Kirkintilloch High is smaller, gets decent reviews for teaching and might well have places...

Not sure if the aptitude places (sport/music) at Douglas Academy are tied to EDC or area wide if they're relevant.

We've taken the view that the big name catchments are absolutely unaffordable for us and will be supplementing catchment school with tutors if required.

@ecceromani

My DD has been to private school last 5 years so ideally want something to match academically what she is used to.

I don't know about school your Dd is at but the majority of private schools in Scotland are academically selective and over 90% of leavers get 5 Highers and go on to university. As well as the obvious things like small class sizes the ability range is quite narrow.

There are VERY few state schools in Scotland that come anywhere near that as they take every child in the catchment regardless of ability.
There are a few exceptions like Jordanhill or Williamswood because they are in very affluent areas with house prices to match.

Sorry I don't know anything about NL schools but I would maybe think about what else is important to you in a school rather than just academic results.

Or consider moving.

Good luck

Thank you for your advice. You are right will definetly look at other things except academic. She loves sports like netball, arts, English and languages. Lots of extra curricular activities are important for her. Her main weakness is in maths but she is getting better. The option of moving is off just now especially with the way things are with omnicron and covid etc. Not many are selling either especially in the areas with affluent schools. I dont want to move once shes settled in HS and, during school term. It would be disruptive for her studies and stressful.

Ive heard lots about Jordanhill & Williamwood from friends and their kids are striving and doing great

I'd be most worried about her being bullied for being the kid who moved to a school from a private school. Pupils will tease her for this. Is she resilient?
The other pupils will have all known each other from primary. She will be very much the odd one out.
Once you have gone down the private route you really have to stick it out.
The class sizes will be bigger (even the top 10 secondaries have classes of 30).
There will be more disruptive behaviour. (State schools can't expel pupils the way private schools do)

Can't you apply for a bursery at her current school? Remortgage? Get a second job? Sell up and rent? Take in a lodger? Ditch the car? If you are already paying fees you should be able to find the extra from somewhere.

@felulageller

I'd be most worried about her being bullied for being the kid who moved to a school from a private school. Pupils will tease her for this. Is she resilient? The other pupils will have all known each other from primary. She will be very much the odd one out. Once you have gone down the private route you really have to stick it out. The class sizes will be bigger (even the top 10 secondaries have classes of 30). There will be more disruptive behaviour. (State schools can't expel pupils the way private schools do)

Can't you apply for a bursery at her current school? Remortgage? Get a second job? Sell up and rent? Take in a lodger? Ditch the car? If you are already paying fees you should be able to find the extra from somewhere.

My DD did her entire primary schooling overseas in private English curriculum school, didn't even have a a Scottish accent when we moved over and started high schools knowing nobody from primary.

She wasn't bullied at all. A bit of teasing the first few weeks but made lots of friends and is thriving and in top sets . She is much happier and feels she is having a more authentic teenage experience in the state system. For me it was good for her ti mix with a wide range of kids and become a bit more streetwise.

Her school is excellent academically , teachers are great and there is good pastoral care.

Thanks for the advice and word of caution regarding bullying. We are deciding to go down private route due to reasons youve mentioned.
Shes already used to smaller class sizes&kids are more disciplined.
Id likely apply for a bursary and sell my property to pull enough cash to help with fees if bursary fell through. It has taken time to reach this decision but i think that it is the best choice. Thanks to everyone for their support and advice

Living in Coatbridge you will never get a placement in Dalziel High, I have friends who already had 2 children in the school and stayed a ten minute walk away just out of catchment and their youngest never got a place last year. They are really cracking down on placements.
For the list of schools you have here your best bets would be Our Lady's in cumbernauld yet again very difficult for a placing, the head of one of the depts couldn't get her son in and they live closer than Coatbridge. Cardinal Newman is a great school and moves up the rankings every year and it is not yet over subscribed.

Thank you this has been very useful and allows me an insight on how things work. We will have to cross out Dalziel and Our Ladys on the list as seems unlikely for a place. If i apply for a placing request elsewhere eg. Cardinal Newman or St Maurice's HS and its rejected can i submit for another school? Or is it once a placing request is submitted the default becomes the catchment school and i cannot submit another? I find the NL website is very unclear on the placing request process

I know in Stirling you can only apply for one at a time but if rejected you can apply for another. You must always register at your catchment regardless of whether you are applying for a placing request. Obviously I don't know if the system is exactly the same.

What do the application forms say? Often those are more informative.

We chose to apply for the school most unlikely to offer first, we'd had a conversation with our 2nd choice who had said they'd never yet had to turn a request down. Whilst that was no guarantee, we felt there was a decent chance of a space even if we applied later. We got a place at our first choice though.

You can put in more than one placing request for NLC, however it's not advised as the most oversubscribed school will just be rejected if they know you are willing to accept another school.

If your first choice is refused, you can then either appeal, do another placing request or accept the catchment school (if they still have enough space).

Last year everything was delayed with covid, so it was mid May before placing requests were notified. This meant that any appeals didn't happen until July. New placing requests put in after May they have 2 months to get back to you (used to be 3 months before covid), so again up to July. A scary time for some kids not having a place, missing induction days etc.

Good luck, I hope you get a school you are both happy with.

Thank you! This has helped us greatly. It seems it will be a while yet then before we hear something of a place. Its interesting to see how different councils work from region to region for placing requests too.
Do you think its worthwhile to ring up the schools to see if its likely we will get a place or is it NLC that decides these things?

There's no harm in asking, but they'll only be able to guide you with what happened in previous years, They won't know the actual numbers of spaces left until March/April time.

My understanding of it is that the Placing request dept do the first sift of each priorities, so already in catchment with no space, medical, childcare and siblings.

The headteacher and someone from the dept jointly have a look at them at some point. Then after that if anything left it's a lucky dip

No harm in asking. School we applied to and got a place in gave nothing away but our 2nd choice just said that whilst they couldn't guarantee anything as it would depend on how many applications they got and how many were a higher priority than mine, they'd never yet had to turn one down. That gave us comfort that it was reasonably likely that even if we applied late, we'd get a space.

So you could ask for generic information from past years about how many places they've been able to fill vs how many applicants etc.

DS goes to St Maurice's. It's a sports comp so might be of interest to your DD if that's her main interest. I can't help on that front, as it isn't DS's thing. The school seems fine, we've not had any complaints, there are all the usual issues that come with high school, but DS has a great group of friends, likes most of his teachers, and enjoys some extra curricular stuff too. He enjoys going to school, is enthusiastic to learn, and that is the main thing for me.

Best of luck to you in whatever you decide for your DD.

Thank you! We put in a placing request but didn't receive email confirmation yet is that the norm? There seems no number to contact them just an email address. Just want to be sure that they received the email

I asked them to confirm receipt of every e-mail I sent them as they don't normally do it.
Good luck OP.