Moving Back to Scotland

[TheWorthyLimeCritic]

Hi everyone,

I am in a bit of a unique situation. I was born and raised in Dundee, graduated university in Edinburgh, then moved to South Korea to teach English in 2013. I ended meeting my wife there, and we have three boys (7, 5, 3) with dual citizenship, British and Korean. Recently we've been looking at moving back to Scotland so our kids can experience life in the UK and learn about this side of their family. We don't have any fixed plans and we're open to living anywhere in Scotland.

I am very worried about our kids adapting to life when we arrive though. Korea is extremely different in just about every way you could imagine, and it will be quite a culture shock. I'd like to find them a school that has experience with international students and takes student welfare seriously. We'd also like to live in a safe, family friendly area obviously.

Does anywhere like this exist? From my own experiences I thought about St. Andrews or Aberdeen as I have good memories of them when I was younger. I've also Googled public and private schools around the country but it's hard to make a decision without hearing real, lived experiences.

Thank you for any help you can offer my family!

If it's affordable then a private school might be able to offer more closely what you are looking for. I have no experience of it, but there is an international school in bridge of allan that might fit the bill. Also a nice area but all that comes at a cost.

The more money you have, the easier it will be to find what you want.

Good luck.

If you are thinking of living in towns, look for primary schools in the catchment of the international family accommodation at the universities nearby. I think it’s Preston Street Primary school in Edinburgh that is in the Edinburgh catchment and said to be about 1/3rd international kids for instance.

Very understandable that you wish to move to your homeland. It would be rather isolating from the Korean heritage for the res of the family. Is London a possibility for you as a stepping stone?
There will be Societies of both Scottish and Korean heritage so they can learn about Scottish traditions whilst learning about the world wide diversity that is present in London London.

The current Scottish curriculum for excellence have a poor reputation and attainment is falling. The Scottish NHS is a mess. Depending on your family circumstances and quality of life in Korea I'm not sure I'd move back now!

Aberdeen/shire is a good choice. It has a significant international population, including from Asia and two Asian supermarkets. I suggest looking at Westhill. One SK/UK family has kids in school there. If your dc are bright, then aim for Cults Academy or Aberdeen Grammar School catchment areas. There is also an International School in Cults.

Btw, Aberdeen house prices have fallen a lot in the past three years.

Bearsden and the west end of Glasgow are fairly international.

if you are hoping for your children to attend uni here then you may wish to keep an eye on timelines to meet the residency rules in order to qualify for free tuition as otherwise it will be expensive.

Coming back on to say that you are in a very fortunate position in being able to give your children a chance to experience life and an education that will be very different from the potentially harmful cultural expectations in South Korea. They will be able to enjoy a childhood without hagwons and the pressure to succeed from an early age, in an uber competitive society.

My dc went to private schools in Aberdeen and a friend whose dc attended the International School, has only good things to say about it.

I was going to suggest Bridge of Allan as they have the international or Dunblane because it might be suited to .your needs. I'm not sure if the school in BoA goes to high school though.

There are pockets of international students in most cities.

The only real ethnically mixed areas though are Glasgow South & West.

The West-End of Glasgow around Hillhead would probably be best.

Not sure about Korean but there are Chinese, Thai, Indian, Pakistani communities out there.

Hillhead High School also gets a good mix because of Uni Families who move to the area.

Good luck.

I'd suggest Glasgow West End, particularly Hillhead Primary. It's very culturally mixed due to the uni and your kids would fit in no problem.

I'm not a fan of Hillhead Secondary but plenty of families are fine with it. If going private for secondary I'd suggest Kelvinside or one of the other West End schools.

Another option for older kids at private would be looking at the International Baccalaureate. St Leonards in St Andrews and Lomond in Helensburgh both run this for S5 and S6. Helensburgh might be another option. It's a very safe town and easy to get to Glasgow, although nowhere near as multicultural as the West End. Lomond has a reasonable mix of cultures though as it has overseas boarders.

Madras College (state secondary) in St Andrews has experience with international students: many of the staff from the uni send their children there. (A friend worked at MC for a while.)

I'm assuming that it's the same at the feeder primaries.

PS

One yr, MC had an influx of senior pupils from St L's...I heard that the St L IB results had not been terribly good.

Education has really deteriorated under the SNP. I grew up in England, the child of a Scottish mother and English father. Both used to say that education was superior in Scotland, and regretted the fact that me and my brother had to go to English state schools. In the England of my childhood, it was taken for granted that Scottish schools were better.

Tollcross Primary in Edinburgh very diverse and good pastoral support. Very experienced with international families.

I would say don’t do it. The weather is awful and getting worse. I would go to the south east nearer London.

If I was really pushed my advice as a native Glaswegian would be West end of Glasgow, Dowanhill, Hyndland etc. Lots of far Eastern students etc. Good state schools and good private schools.