Opinions on Bonnybridge with teens, please

[Batcurns]

Hello Scotsnet

Apologies for a second thread but I am looking for opinions on Bonnybridge please, with Denny High School.

Found a pretty lovely house, have had a family member do a viewing for us (as we're in SE England).

Would be grateful for any views, thanks!

Not great, there is a reason it's a cheaper area.

Can you expand please @TheTrees1 it would be really helpful!

Thank you 😊

House may well be lovely but as a (fairly) local secondary teacher and recent owner of 4 teens please do your research. There is nothing much in Bonnybridge itself. Be prepared to spend your time driving to Falkirk. Teens in Scotland get free bus transport but buses are not great - last bus before the typical end of a film.

Denny High is ok. Not great, not terrifying for a state school with a very mixed catchment. I have tutored pupils from there and been both impressed and confused by the approaches .

I hate blunt tools as they are measurements of post codes, class and no real indication of quality but if I was taking a detached view and looking for baseline starting points have a look at Bonnybridge postcodes on the SIMD and Denny High on the Herald League tables.

Could your budget stretch to Stirling? There are areas where you can get a great house for a decent price and teens can access so much more activities more easily.

I'd say probably a bit rural for teens unless they're close to 17 and you have a budget for a car for them.

I'd want a really good bus service or regular trains to Stirling/Edinburgh/Glasgow or they'd likely be bored.

Great motorway and commuting links but not so much on public transport for non drivers

I believe it's the top place for UFO sightings, there is possibly a reason for that.

Oh yes, so it is!

I wouldn't it's stuck out on its own in the middle of nowhere really. Most of the original town is pretty deprived. The newer build housing has only been popular due to proximity of the motorway to Glasgow. But property is cheaper because I don't think anyone would actively choose to live in Bonnybridge.

Saying that I have friends who teach at Denny High and they are both pretty happy there. I'm not sure how teens moving from England would fare though as it's a fairly insular community. You'd be better somewhere with slightly more diversity.

It’s not great, not much there, not much to do for teens and poor transport links. I would look at Stirling or even Larbert. Larbert has a train station and while the school is huge, it has a good reputation.