Page 2 | Anyone able to tell me about schools in East Renfrewshire?

VictorBaucherOrSomething · 2023-11-13T20:35:55+00:00

We have family in East Ren area and are looking to move there from another council area soon. Eldest DC is high school age and the areas we are looking at are in catchment for Williamwood and Mearns Castle. I know that on paper these are seen as good schools however I've heard that Williamwood as a big issue with bullying, has anyone heard anything similar? Don't know a great deal about Mearns Castle but anything that anyone can advise me on would be great, thanks!

ssd · 14/12/2023 09:32

Meeplemakeglasgow · 21/11/2023 16:03

Yes, like this incident for example..

https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/16407877.clarkston-park-attack-saw-knife-thugs-ambushed-exam-results-teens/

Which was horrific but barely any mention at all of what happened to provoke it apart from bottles being thrown earlier.

In a park which was was flooded by WW Pupils who were all drinking, out of glass bottles funnily enough.

Of course all the MPs/MSPs were out in the press over it, remember thinking that if it was the boys from Castlemilk who came off worst I bet they wouldn’t have had the same reaction.

Just seen this. @Meeplemakeglasgow my son was there, i know what happened. The WW pupils weren't to blame.

Beginningless · 14/12/2023 10:26

Wanderinstar80 · 14/12/2023 08:36

Sorry 😳 fat fingers.

@Medee I'd say be wary of WW in particular with children with ASN. My friend has a DS there who has been assaulted several times by other pupils and now has anxiety issues as a result. The teachers don't seem to know what to do about it either. Heard other stories too, apparently a boy was in a so called safe space on school grounds and ended up in hospital with a fractured skull after being attacked by two other boys. School tried to downplay it and the parent got the head of education dept and local Councillor involved last I heard.

Years ago when I was a social worker covering a nearby region in ER it was the general view in the dept that one of the reasons for their high attainment was that any kids who had additional needs or challenging behaviour connected to trauma etc, were quickly evicted. Others on the thread have more personal experience so will know more than me, but one meeting I had with a head teacher left me feeling that compassion and nurture were low on the agenda.

Medee · 14/12/2023 11:01

That's really sad to hear about WW. Thanks for sharing both.

Confusednewmum1 · 27/12/2023 21:25

@jodes7001 there is a strange phenomenon in clarkston and mearns where all the girls talk with fake Californian accents anyway.

It’s a gold fish bowl and really a vile rat race of a place that people find themselves stuck in or desperate to be in due to the high attaining schools. Which in reality are all too large and don’t deal properly with a horrendous entitlement culture.

As someone who moved under duress - husband hated the place and spent years desperate to move back for schools. I’m so so glad I never have. My little girl has just joined the most perfect primary school of 200 kids total and the savings on property means private schooling is affordable but tight for high school.

Rainbowshit · 27/12/2023 22:15

Confusednewmum1 · 27/12/2023 21:25

@jodes7001 there is a strange phenomenon in clarkston and mearns where all the girls talk with fake Californian accents anyway.

It’s a gold fish bowl and really a vile rat race of a place that people find themselves stuck in or desperate to be in due to the high attaining schools. Which in reality are all too large and don’t deal properly with a horrendous entitlement culture.

As someone who moved under duress - husband hated the place and spent years desperate to move back for schools. I’m so so glad I never have. My little girl has just joined the most perfect primary school of 200 kids total and the savings on property means private schooling is affordable but tight for high school.

LMAO. Wait until you see the entitlement culture in private school. 🙈🙈😂😂

BeFirmMaker · 29/06/2024 03:19

Personally williamwood has little care for students welfare unless favourited or good grades, only care about table results and put all effort into high achieving students. I have seen and experienced this which includes not only grades but the lack of care provided by the school- they turn a blind eye to bullying

Original poster

VictorBaucherOrSomething · 30/06/2024 09:59

BeFirmMaker · 29/06/2024 03:19

Personally williamwood has little care for students welfare unless favourited or good grades, only care about table results and put all effort into high achieving students. I have seen and experienced this which includes not only grades but the lack of care provided by the school- they turn a blind eye to bullying

Agree with this - I know someone whose son was being bullied relentlessly after they started S1, in the end they pulled him out and sent him to another school as nothing was being done about it.

Her son was very sociable and popular in primary so it was really unexpected that he ended up being bullied, I think the not so nice kids were pretty much challenging his popularity and he reached a breaking point.

OP posts:

LittleWonder26 · 12/03/2025 12:18

Hi,
My DD is in primary 6. we are planning to shift into secondary school catchment. My DD is very good in academics. Please throw some light about culture strictness and decipline and academics extra curricular activities about schools in East Renfrewshire. Unfortunately, St Ninian's is oversubscribed so that option is not available.
Please guide me to choose between Mearns Castle, Woodfarm and Williamwood.
Thanks

YourLoudLilacGuide · 13/03/2025 10:29

Facilities at williamwood are better. Extra curriculars ok if they’re into sports but there’s not very much focus on it at school level.

You’d need to have self discipline at williamwood at there’s too many kids for the teachers to keep track of.

Abnormaleastren · 23/04/2025 03:23

As a single mum, I paid through the nose on rent to stay in giffnock and send my daughter to primary school there. She completed primary school there, by which time I had finally saved enough to buy our own home.

I bought in Clarkston and my daughter attended Williamwood (despite us being catholic- I signed for house in July and by then st.Ninians was over-prescribed).

I am the eldest of 5, and myself and all siblings were educated at Belmont, Sandringham Avenue, Newton Mearns. This obviously cost an arm and a leg when I see it on paper now! However, my daughter achieved the same grades at Williamwood as all of us (with exception of my youngest sister who is exceptionally clever). So, IMO and that of my siblings- the only plus to going to Belmont over an east ren state school; was the class sizes. Some classes I took were a third of size of my daughter in Williamwood- however, did this impact my daughter’s results? Absolutely not! Certainly not to the amount my parents paid in fees at Belmont!

so my advice would be, if your kids are academic and intelligent- do not waste your money on private school! East Ren schools are extremely high performing and consistently. My daughter and her peers also never endured any bullying. In fact, the school is extremely strict in uniform, morals and standards expected. I can only presume the bullying claims were something of previous years. To finish, I just left the Williamwood S6 graduation this evening. And it was the most successful S6 in history of Williamwood. I hope this is useful to people weighing up east ren vs private, coming from someone who was privately educated. God bless everyone.