Edinburgh Private Schools- Heriots/Watsons/Edinburgh Academy

[LouisePe]

I have had a read through the many posts on this topic but just have a few questions for any parents with DC at/considering heriots/GWC/Edinburgh Academy for their kids.

We are currently based overseas and will be returning to Edinburgh in June. Our son has been offered places at both Heriots and Watsons for nursery, and we are waiting to hear from Edinburgh Academy. We had originally planned on P1 entry but wanting to minimise the number of times we're putting him through a move.

We toured all 3 schools when visiting mid last year. I think the tours left me more indecisive if anything!
He is currently at a nursery in Australia attached to a school I'd say compares most to GH - very academic. I did like that the head teacher said they get their good results through finding every childs strength and working with them on it.

I loved Watsons when touring - their facilities were great and I felt there was a more broad extracurricular offering. Their wraparound care seemed very good.
I worry about making the choice of a more academic school when he is so young and may end up being more sporty/musical/art focussed. Location wise Watsons is slightly better. I felt the big size was ok as the school seemed quite well divided?
EA would probably be my 3rd preference- No reason other than preferring the other 2 and I felt possibly EA wasn't as diverse or inclusive. (Please correct me if I'm wrong!)

Can anyone please share their nursery/primary experiences with these 3 schools?
Are the demographics of families much the same at the Edinburgh private schools? In Australia it can vary quite a lot.
Is there much movement of kids between the Edinburgh private schools? I'm feeling very pressured to make the right choice for his schooling and he's currently so young.

I'm so appreciative of any advice or guidance anyone is able to provide! :)

I'm a state school parent but what I have picked up is Watsons seems to do a lot better with the kids who have any additional needs or difficulties so more inclusive from that perspective. I've known a child be moved out of Heriots by the parents as their support was so poor. He got better support at the local state school.

Heriot is perceived as posher by Edinburgh natives. I do wonder why people who live in catchment for good state schools fork out for the difference it makes for the majority of the kids. But that's personal preference I guess.

Why not consider state primary then you will have a better feel for what private secondary would best suit your DS when the time comes? And save yourself a fortune.

He's in nursery, you don't know what he'll grow up to be like or be interested in when he's older so pick what suits him (and you) now! I would pick which ever is easiest for where you'll be living as the traffic in Edinburgh is horrendous and not helped by all the independent school kids being driven across town

Quite a lot of people in Edinburgh send their kids to state primary and then move to private in p6. Though it means you'll have to organise wrap around care (availability at state schools is limited). That way you can postpone the decision to when you have a better idea of your child's strengths.

GWC parent here with 2 kids in junior school having joined the pre-school and so far, it’s been great. Have friends with kids at Heriots, EA and ESMS and they all feel much of a muchness…some minor niggles but having been through state education in Edinburgh myself, I often feel that we don’t know how good we have it and would squarely put those niggles in the ‘first world problems’ list.

A big benefit has been continuity…while the state schools have faced into multiple strikes over the last couple of years, the private provision has continued. As both parents work full time, this has been something we’ve both been really grateful for.

Breakfast club, after school club and holiday club all great provisions. It can be a bit nail biting to find out whether or not you get a place (first come first served) and a couple of times we haven’t but they have always put on more provision so ultimately never been left struggling thankfully and I don’t know anyone who has missed out.

Cannot complain re quality of teaching - some of the teachers we have had I’d consider outstanding and the head of the junior school is also excellent. The school is huge but the junior school feels very much like its own little community within the wider school community.

Feel like they get the balance between academics and sport/arts right. There are opportunities for pretty much everything you could possibly be interested in.

We have a long way to go but so far I have been impressed.

We are both shift workers so wrap around care and holiday programs etc is one of the biggest reasons we’re needing the private system!

We did consider this route however moving back from another country, starting nursery then moving to another new environment for school would be a lot for my son. I’m trying to ease this transition as much as possible. We’re also both shift workers so will be quite reliant on good wrap around care and holiday programs, which the local state schools to where we’re moving didn’t have much of.

I think if you choose a nursery attached to the school (child needs to be 3+) and organise a childminder then your child wouldn't have that much upheaval. It is more challenging though as you have to work around catchment and availability of space. And obviously find a good childminder which can be tricky too!

I have 2 at Watsons, and like @JennyLake, we've been very happy with the school so far. Both mine started in P1 and are now in S3 and P7. We find it a very inclusive school, and although big, the Lower Primary and Upper Primary are like mini communities so it doesn't feel daunting. By the time they get to senior school, they are used to the size and it just feels right. The facilities are great and of course have the benefit of being on all one campus. I may be slightly bias as both of mine are sporty so are well catered for with lots of options. But they have friends who are arty, musical and have many other diverse interests and all are catered for in some shape or form.
We've had a great set of teachers - just one that we didn't get along with, but thats par for the course. The head of the Junior school is fantastic, very involved and very hands on...and lots of fun. (He dressed up at Miss Trunchbull at the Christmas Concert!)
To be honest though, you need to go with your gut feeling about what would be a good all round fit, and what would work for you in terms of location, both home and work.

We’re at Heriots (P1) and very pleased.

They also guarantee wrap around care if you register early summer.

On reflection, I would have moved him for his pre-school year, just because about 50% of the P1 intake is from the nursery, so friendships have already been formed by P1 (although obviously they flex and reform with the new intake).

Also heriots are fully supportive of non-academic interests - either in school or as extra curricular

I don't have personal experience of any of these schools but know children in all of them and they and their parents are happy.

Although Heriots is considered the most academic TBH the Edinburgh private schools are all pretty similar in terms of academic outcomes. If you look at their Higher and AH results and leavers destinations you'll see they're actually pretty much of a muchness.
It's more the "character" of the schools which are different.

Families often choose based on location. Do you know which area you plan to live in?
EA and Watsons are at opposite sides of the city! Anecdotally EA pupils often live in north and central Edinburgh. The other 2 schools have pupils from a very wide area, including Fife and the Borders.

It's pretty difficult to get an idea what's going to suit your child best when he's only in nursery. What appears great for a 4 year old may not seem so great for a 14 year old. Mine moved into private mid-primary and it's much easier to judge what's going to suit them best by them.

I'd honestly go with your gut instinct as to which school feels right for your child at the moment. 9 times out of 10 they'll be fine the whole way through. But if it's not right by secondary you can move him. There is a fair amount of movement in the Edinburgh private schools. My DDs have regularly had children leaving and joining from other private schools. It's a lot of money to pay so if it's starting to not feel the right fit people do move.

If you’re not dead set on an all through education it might be worth looking at Cargilfield. Both mine went and it’s truly amazing. It is a proper prep school though.

Thanks so much for responding! I was state educated too and didn't have a great experience so I really think any of the schools are going to seem brilliant, they certainly offer a lot more than I ever was.

I'm so glad the wrap around care and holiday programs have been a positive experience for you also, we're both shift workers and I often struggle with having to leave my son in care so much so it's really important for me that it's a good experience for him.
Did most of the kids from the preschool continue on in the school in your experience?
I'm so glad re continuity too- moving back from internationally I'm really keen to settle him in and have a good ongoing school experience.

Thanks for the suggestion, will look into it although not sure on the prep school aspect and location might be a bit far. How did your kids cope with the long school days?

We had a horrific time at Watson’s. I usually describe it as being a perfectly fine school until it wasn’t. I also strongly urge parents to try to find out how schools handle complaints when things go wrong.

if you have any concerns about gender ideology in schools, I would not touch Watson’s with a barge pole. Their policy is to not inform parents if their child socially transitions at school where the child is 12+ and does not wish the parents to know. IME they will tell a sibling in confidence with the expectation that the sibling will keep it secret and you run the very real risk of being reported to social services by the school. On the other hand, if you support self ID in schools, this is the school for you.

However, even if you support self ID in schools, you should look at how complaints are handled. IME, we were lied to and lied about. Repeatedly. Some of it was very serious and fundamental to our complaint- eg claims that we refused to meet to discuss the issue when in fact we had agreed to do so multiple times but were ignored. Some of it was surreal like a Year Head falsely claiming he had eggs thrown at him and that somehow I was involved in this imaginary egg throwing incident.

I’ve never come across such an unprofessional environment in my life. I used to wax lyrical about the school here (under an old user name) and defended them following the 2017 bullying case, so our later experience came as a complete shock.

Wherever you choose, do try to find parents who did experience difficulties and ask how the school handled it- were they treated fairly, was their complaint properly investigated or did the school close rank etc

Thanks so much for your reply, so helpful as yours have been there for so long!

Have you found your kids have been ok with the all through aspect of the school? Some family members have voiced concerns my son might lack the adaptability if he's potentially never changing schools, but I think the way Watsons is set out helps as they're moving through the different parts? It sounds like a lot of new kids join in the P6-S1 years though and no doubt class and friend groups change anyway.

I did love that Watsons is all on one campus, I can definitely see my son becoming very sporty as he grows up so might save us some of the driving needed for other schools!
Hard question but have you found the culture inclusive/diverse? I've been told that EA is quite cliquey/lots of bankers etc and heriots is quite posh but haven't heard much about kids/families who go to Watsons.

Hard question but have you found the culture inclusive/diverse? I've been told that EA is quite cliquey/lots of bankers etc and heriots is quite posh but haven't heard much about kids/families who go to Watsons.

There are definitely a fair few lawyers, accountants and doctors in the parent pool at Watson’s but equally there are nurses, teachers, small business owners etc. I’ve not come across any “super-rich” types at all although I’m sure they are there…I think however more likely that they would be sending their kids to Fettes or the like. Lots of kids there being paid for by grandparents…(not us sadly!)

I have colleagues who's kids go to / have gone to Watsons and know a couple of other families who go and they are definitely not posh or from "old money" (one is very open that their kids only go because Granny left him some money!)

Thanks! My son is currently attending a nursery attached to a private school in Australia where there's a lot of old money/very wealthy families and I'm definitely looking for something more diverse, which it sounds most of the Edinburgh privates are!

@LouisePe re Cargilfield. If you go and see it you will fall in love with it. it doesn't feel like a school at all. It is very diverse but it does have a goodly share of very high income families and old money but the education and facilities are second to none. Re the long days: they don't start until upper school and they adjust really well. Sport every day at Cargilfield too.

I am not a lover of all through schools. I think it is convenient for the parents but not that healthy for the kids. Just my opinion and, of course, everyone's circumstances are different but I think it can be really important to allow our kids to re-invent themselves which can be done easier by the natural progression of moving to secondary school. I have friends though whose kids have done the all through and they liked it. My daughter moved to St. George's for 6th form and although she really enjoyed her time there she found that many of the girls confided in her that by that time found it quite stifling and claustrophobic as they had been with the same people since nursery.

I cant offer any knowledge on the schools op sorry but have been reading out of nosiness and hope your move goes well. Anecdotally, I have friends in Edinburgh, one has kids at EA - she waxes lyrical about it. I always though EA was more posh families and heriots down to earth but maybe im wrong?
@motherstongue im interested in your thoughts about all through school. I completely agree with your notion of seniour school allowing a revamp etc. I wondered though, i went to my local state primary and feeder high school. The high school catchment was my primary as the main intake and then a handful of village schools. Would you consider this an all through education? I ask because when i went to high school suddenly you have classes per subject so you meet lots of new people etc rather than being in one class of 30 for a year. My high school friends were different to my primary friends because of classes being mixed. Would that not happen as well even in the all through school? They will surely gets lots of new incomers along the way too? I am not sure if anyone can give me a conclusive answer and am just really speaking out loud my thoughts, i think its an interesting consideration on whats best to do.

Thanks so much, I’m going to look into Cargilfield. Being a prep school, do a lot of kids go onto boarding schools?
I don’t think boarding will be for us so looks like we might have to leave a year early if going to a day school since they don’t have intakes at 13?
Can definitely see my son being a big fan of the Beach nursery sessions though!

I’ve also never been sure of the right thing re all through schools!
He’s currently at a nursery attached to an all through school he’d have been attending if we’d stayed here in Aus- but there’s always lots of movement with kids coming and going for parents jobs etc. They have big intake years in the equivalent of P6 and S1, the year group almost doubles at S1 so kids all get mixed in anyway. I have wondered about never having the opportunity to be school ‘leaders’ until the end of highschool though.
I think there’s pros and cons to both really.

re. Cargilfield and boarding schools, just look at the list of "future schools" on their website! It seems to have very close links with Fettes too. The location could also be a nightmare to get to depending on where you live.
Cargilfield Prep School | Cargilfield Prep School Edinburgh | Future Schools

Thankyou, I’ve just seen that. It sounds very lovely for lower primary but don’t think we’ll be a boarding school family in future or keen for a school like Fettes.