Moving from England to Inverness with Year 12 & 11 this August 2025

[CrazyWisdom]

Hello lovely people all over the Great Scottish Lands

I got a job in Inverness, which will be starting this April. We have 3 kids currently 16,15 & 7 (Yr 11,10 & 3 in England respectively). The eldest is aiming for Medical School, next is between Medical & Engineering. Both are doing well in schools (Grammar Schools both)

We are getting insane about the best option for our kids and when the best time is to move them and get the family together. We are seeking your kind brainstorming and advice.

Options are: taking into consideration their age will fit with the Scottish system, as they are already one year older than their Scottish peers

1. Move them this July/August 2025: Eldest will have to start Highers, and next will go to S4.
2. Concerns:
3. Slightly a shock to DD in the most important year in her aspiration to compete for Medical school entry. Additionally, her peers would have already started their Highers after they finished S4, and it may be difficult for her to catch up and achieve the required A.s.
4. DS will have finished 1st year of GCSE (but didn't complete it), and he has to catch up with S4 subjects, especially if his peers in Scotland have started the subjects during S3.
5. Wait for a year, and move them in July/August 2026. Eldest has done the first year of A-level and got her Mock exam results, which theoretically can apply to Universities with these grades to get a conditional offer, awaiting final results for A-level. DS will complete his GCSE and start his Highers in Scotland.
6. Concerns:
7. DD either to go down a year to restart her Highers in Scotland or completes her A-level from home with online courses (with huge financial impact), which might not be the most helpful to achieve her aspiration to complete the high grades required.
8. DS will have missed the few weeks of Highers subjects that are being taught to his peers the last few weeks in S4 before they break for the school holidays.
9. Wait 2 years: The worst option for the family psychologically and financially. It would also affect their eligibility for SAAS fund application.

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We are struggling to decide, as each option has its drawbacks that we have to accept. We need some help with picking the option that would cause the least harm to the kids.

Thank you in advance and waiting eagerly for your kind opinions

I don’t live in Scotland but I have moved my kids around the world and I think the only reasonable option is to wait the two years. Sorry.

Where are you currently?

Also when you say " I" are you a single parent family or whose job is it - Dad's or Mum's?

Yeah they'd need 5 As at Higher in S5. And are starting a new system, and late? This is totally unfair.
There are private schools in Scotland that do A levels - have you checked those out? Or she stays in England and visits you in Scotland.
Sorry to piss on your chips but it's going to be really hard.

You need to move at end of May as thaty when exams finish in Scotland normally end of may they start the next academic year on 1st June so both highers and Nat 5 will start then
Is your eldest doing Gsce this summer,? if so I would move them to Scottish school the day after last exam. The younger one should ideally move asap as many schools start Nat 5 syllabus after Easter when those doing, NAT 5 go on exam leave. I would hesitant to move them until finished school though for the 15 year old doing 3 years at school in Scotland will qualify them for free uni fees.

If you are going to move them it needs to be in may June not July August

They are awful ages to move to whst is in effect a completely new and different education system

it is interesting that option 9 is the one you mention psychological impact given that moving them is going to cause the potential for real long term damage to a medical career

Do you have to take the job? It sounds like this will be hugely disruptive to their education and I’m not sure you could ever justify your reasoning to them for this, if it does indeed mess up their grades and future plans.

The option to move in two years would be the best bet but awful for family life and although less terrible for their education, kids need their parents around and especially when going through exams etc. I think you’d end up regretting ever taking the job personally.

That's what my questions are leading to. Do you all need to move as a family? Inverness isn't a very exciting place at all 😬

With a DD aspiring to medical school it's astounding that the option of moving her mid A levels to complete courses online is even on the table

If you have sat Nat 5 exams in a subject you will already have followed the same course structure as the Higher will be. You'll have a lot of the skills and exam technique that you then carry over to Higher. I think a student doing well at GCSE could do well at Highers, but when your career prospects depend on a very specific set of results I don't think it will happen.

This. I have a dd who went through the process of applying for medical school recently. It’s a huge, stressful undertaking that requires complete focus.

Another vote for this being too disruptive, particularly on the child aspiring for meducal school. Is there no option to postpone for a few years?

Even if she studies A levels from home she willhave to sit them somewhere, and she will need to do the practical element of the sciences which may be tricky to arrange. I think this move is likely to destroy her chances of doing medicine whatever you decide.

My DD is in 6th year planning to do medicine next year, from the start of 5th year it has been intense and there is no way she’d have handled a curriculum change along with UCAT prep. Are there any schools near where you will stay that offer A levels? Would private be an option?

Thanks for everyone's contribution. The answer to the above questions:

1. We are a family. It is the Dad who got the job. Mum is not working.
2. We are in Preston. So practically around 6 hour's drive/train.
3. I checked for the private schools and none close to Inverness, not to mention can't afford to be honest.
4. I am afraid not taking the job or postponing is not an option. This is the only one available currently.
5. Yes, my eldest is doing GCSE this summer 2025. DS is next year 2026.

As regards the Uni fees, our understanding is that if they have been living in the UK (not necessarily Scotland) for the past 3 years, and can prove their ordinary residence for the precedented year before applying for uni (which I hope we can prove through address, payslips and tax payment as parents), then they should be eligible hopefully. Please correct me if I am wrong, as this is another major factor to consider.

Very difficult situation to be honest. Potential future individual harm to either child or family being apart for few years and who knows what could happen 😞

Can you afford private sixth form for the oldest? Not sure how many boards there are but that might be an option to keep continuity as a number of Scottish private schools offer A-levels and GCSEs. Timing is bad though as the systems are very different. I get the impression that the teaching philosophy is quite different between the systems as well so it would be tough to drop in right before public exams.

Dropping a year might be relatively easy - the only kids who are "fixed" in their year at school starting are those born March to mid August, everyone else can defer as of right and many Jan to Feb birthdays have been deferred for a long time. Any kids born March to Aug are automatically the year below their English year.

Then you'll need to go to Inverness alone and leave the dc at home. The oldest one definitely.

You need to have lived in Scotland for 3 years for free uni. Could you move immediately after the last GCSE so the higher work can start immediately and pay for tutors? I'd only suggest this if the kids are fully on board for the move, otherwise I think you need to finish the education in England

This is potentially a good option. DD is Dec 2008. DS is Jan 2010.

As I thought I would actually suggest that you as a family stay where you are and Dad takes up cheap digs in Inverness and commutes as often as possible. Booking ahead EasyJet is cheap. It's not ideal but it's the best for your children. People everyday make decisions like this for their children. As for trying to get onboard with Scottish uni fees you might be lucky.

There might be some state schools that do IB or A-levels in some cases - one of our nearby state schools definitely does A-level music for music scholars but it will need some poking around the depths of school websites.

Any chance the oldest could go state boarding in England?

Is it possible to do her Highers during the advanced Hgher year (S6) and still get into medicine? I understand that her grades must be in the same sitting, but not sure that it has to be during S5, and can't be S6 🤔

Have you ever been to Inverness @OP?

No as you need advanced highers too

Just for the interview