Relocating from Manchester

[Leah70]

Hi there,

we’re relocating to Scotland from Manchester. We would prefer somewhere fairly central, accessible to major road networks , public transport etc but with beautiful countryside. Easy access for walks. The family enjoy paddle boarding. Hubbie keen on taking up some cold water swimming. He works from home so would need good broadband.

We’re looking at Kinross, Dunblane and Auchterarder, from what I’ve seen they all seem to have thriving town centres. Our children are 14, 9 and 3. I am nervous for the teenager as he will be entering S3. However he is a bright boy and gets very good grades at England school so should be able to catch up hopefully.

Just after any feedback on these areas, with regards to the high schools and local communities please. Also any suggestions for other areas?

If you made it this far, thank you for reading.

I'm not sure I'd call Kinross a thriving town centre, last time i was there on a Saturday it was like a ghost town and it's not a train line so could be quite isolated.
Dunblane is lovely and has direct trains to Edinburgh and Glasgow, and also close to Stirling. Easy drive to Loch Lomond and places like Callander which always feels to me like the gateway into the highlands. It would get my vote over the other two.
Has your eldest already done Year 9 in England? If so, I wouldn't worry about him going into S3 in Scotland but even if he hasn't i think he'd be fine.

I'd include Bridge of Allan and Stirling. I would avoid the Bannockburn catchment probably as overall it doesn't do well academically. That's not to say that bright pupils might achieve just as well, but they don't seem to do as well with their catchment overall. I wouldn't worry about Stirling being a city, it's really not that big and would be a smallish town in most areas of England.

Yes he has just completed year 9 here. Thank you for your reply. I am familiar with Dunblane and Auchterarder having visited both but haven’t been to Kinross yet. We’re travelling up next week.

My son has enjoyed studying Spanish and really wanted to take it to GCSE/National 5 level. Am aware that the high school in Auchterarder don’t offer this subject. I see it is on the syllabus for Kinross but cannot access Dunblane High’s website. I’m wondering if perhaps there is another way he can continue to study this subject to qualification level if the high school don’t offer this as standard.

We haven’t considered Bridge of Allan we will definitely have a look at it. I have family in Aberfeldy and I’ve been visiting regularly for many years. Honestly this is where we have fallen head over heels for but we don’t want to be too close to them. We want to find somewhere with a similar vibe but without encroaching on them 🤔

Dunblane definitely offers Spanish I have friends who teach it there.

We moved from London to Cupar and love it. We found a great community which is very focused on sport for kids and parents. Triathlon, rugby, football, cross fit, dance studio and running.... Good representation amongst girls so not just boys teams. Loads of outdoor space in the schools and tons of off-road gravel trails for cycling. The coast is about 20-30 min away .. We are members of sailing and open water swimming clubs.. There are 4-5 Victorian tidal pools in the East neuk which have been glorious this summer. We can walk to local shops or supermarket to get something for dinner or get a coffee but probably wouldn't spend a day walking round shopping...if we want to go to go out out then there is st Andrews, Dundee or Edinburgh.... Good road and train links for mooching round shops/cafes/bars

Perth college may offer Spanish if it's not on the curriculum at a high school in vrieff, Auchterarder or Kinross? I'm sure I've heard of some pupils doing that. Schools in Perth & Kinross go back next week so you could contact the relevant high school to ask if there are arrangements to enable this.