St Nicholas Primary / Bearsden Academy Transition Questions?

[Meeplemakeglasgow]

Hi,

Can anyone local help with understanding the transition arrangements for St Nicholas Primary in Bearsden?

My Niece is in the process of buying a house in Milngavie but will send her children to St Nicholas for primary.

She is under the impression that the pupils there have the option to transfer to Bearsden Academy as there are no viable options for catholic secondaries that don’t involve a lengthy bus or attending a Glasgow school.

I didn’t think that was the case as I know the primary takes in kids from 3 ND High-School catchments (Bearsden, Douglas, Boclair) and if a child chose to go ND for secondary then they would be assigned their catchment school.

However one of my colleagues who sent her children there a few years ago said that she could only think of a few kids in her daughter’s year who didn’t go to Bearsden.

All of the high schools are much of a muchness so she’s not concerned about quality but obviously would like to know what the situation is.

Is there any agreement that allows the St Nicholas kids to attend Bearsden/placing request prioritisation etc.,?

Has anyone been through this and understands how it works?

Based on friends' experiences, my understanding is that only children at St Nicholas who live in the catchment for Bearsden Academy would get in to Bearsden. There's always the option of placing requests but many primary schools in the Bearsden catchment area are reaching their capacity due to more houses being built and an increase in families with children moving in to the area. My understanding is also that the majority of St Nicholas children already live in the Bearsden catchment - numbers of those coming from Milngavie have decreased.

I am local and completely agree with @usedupallmynames . If she lives in Milngavie she will not get her children into Bearsden Academy. That would be the case if thet were at St Nicks or Baljaffray or any of the other feeder schools. She may get them into Douglas, or to Turnbull High in Bishopbriggs which is the catchment Catholic school.

Bearsden Academy is absoutely chocka block and placing requests are not the done deal that they were a few years ago due to all the houses which have been built in the last 5 years in catchment.

It would be a huge risk for her to send her kids to St Nicks and hope to get into Bearsden Academy.

Presumably if in milngavie would get a place at Douglas which is arguably a better school than Bearsden Academy

Yes would probably get a place at Douglas, but that's not ideal if 28 out of 30 in your P7 class are going to B'den.

Catchment has nothing to do with the primary school you are in and everything to do with the area in which you live. If your niece lives in Milngavie, the catchment school is Douglas Academy. Douglas Academy is a good school.

Agree with all of the above. She should get a place at Douglas Academy as the (excellent) non dom catchment secondary for Milngavie. She can put in a placing request for Bearsden but this year only 11.1% of requests were successful.

This is the policy that explains how the Council allocates places: www.eastdunbarton.gov.uk/services/a-z-of-services/primary-secondary-and-early-years-education/admissions-policy-procedure/

Thanks all, exactly as I thought.

Although interestingly my colleague (who was in the boclair catchment) got her kids into Bearsden (1 in august and one 3 years ago) no problem, and states she was far from the only one, so there’s clearly been some recent leeway regarding the request.

All academic really as the schools there are all pretty much the same in any case as far as I know.

Think she just doesn’t want to be in a situation where her dc wouldn’t transition with other kids but by the sound of it they wouldn’t be the only one going to Douglas if that was the case.