Moving from English primary year 6 to Scottish S1

[MixMash]

Hi! I am new to all this so a little patience may be needed. Lol.
My DH has been promoted to a post in Stirling so a move for us all is on the cards from Leeds, England.
Our DD is 11 years old turning 12 on October 11th. At present she is in her final year at primary school & is due to take her SATS in May, has a residential booked & paid for (£300 for 3 days!!!) in June & has begged us not to remove her from her friends until the last day in July.
The company DH works for is being very helpful & has offered him to move with the single men in a large rented house until me & DD can follow up in July once she has completed school.
This would probably be the best way to do it, obviously not for me & DH but at least we can travel up on weekends to stay with him. Also this way we can get a feel for Stirling & the surrounding areas to decide where it is we want to settle.
My DD is aware she will effectively 'jump' a year because of the differences in the Scottish education system, but I am just worried that she may not cope well with the change. She is Type 1 diabetic & is on an insulin pump so I am worried that the other children may see her as different or that she may not feel as at ease with her illness as she does at home surrounded with her friends & family.
There is so much to think about it hurts my head! Lol.

Can anyone recommend any good schools around the area? We have taken particular interest in McLaren High School up by Callander which seems to have the same ethos as her present school.

I don't know the area - you might want to try another thread in the Local section to get that level of detail.

But, starting S1 will be a great time for her to move to the new system - the school will have children coming in from different feeder schools, who will have covered different things in different depth, so they won't have a set idea of what everyone has to know. There will also be lots of subjects that all the DC are starting from scratch, so she won't be disadvantaged.

And in a reasonably big secondary, she won't be the only child with a condition or disability, so I'm sure she won't seem odd to the others.

Basically, I'm sure she'll be fine!

Parentzone here is some info. about education in Scotland

I don't know much about the school, but Callander is a lovely place and I will be jealous if you move there :)

I'm not sure what you mean by your daughter jumping a year though. S1 is the same as Year 7 so she'll be staying at the same level as if she were in England.

I have friends in England with kids the same age as mine and all through primary they have been doing very similar work. Mine in P1, theirs in reception, mine in P2 theirs in Y1 etc etc

I do know the area. I live 5 miles from Stirling but in Clackmannanshire at the foot of the Ochils. I would not live in Stirling,where you pay city prices nor choose Bridge of Allan, Dunblane area as housing is overpriced compared to Clackmannanshire. We also have 3 brand new secondary schools (built under PFI but that is another story!. Almost all children here go to the excellent state schools and as M in S says they will all be having a fresh start together so new friendships, new subjects on the cards. The few who have private education around here go to Dollar Academy (McLaren High is difficult in winter weather and appears to me to be more 'boy' focussed). The private schools go back in September but the state schools return in mid-August so you would not have long to get organised if you do not arrive until end of July.

Try - clacksweb.org.uk - for further information.

Agree with AMumInScotland that it is a good time to move as she would have been moving from primary to secondary anyway. I doubt if there is a much difference between English year 6 and Scottish P7. The only downside I can think of is the very short summer holiday. She will be leaving primary at the end of July and starting secondary in the middle of August.

Hi, I don't know very much about the differences between England and Scotland but would like to tell you not to worry so much about others accepting and understanding her diabetes. It's fairly common, I'm sure everyone knows someone or knows someone who knows someone lol I had a girl in my year at secondary who was diabetic and it wasn't even an issue.

From a few visits and knowing someone who lives there, Stirling in nice (although I'm sure it will have it's 'rough' areas, like anywhere else). It's good to move for the start of S1 as everyone will be new. Good luck with the move.

It's a fairly good time to move, to be honest.

I'd imagine most high schools will have some experience of diabetic pupils and if not, should aim to quickly get up to speed with it. There are courses aimed specifically at teachers and school staff.

Doe sshe definitly want to stay in england still the end of July? She'll miss out on some summer holiday.

She won't jump a year at all. She's one of the older ones in england and she'll be among the slightly younger ones in Scotland.

Like everyone above I don't think it will be a problem at all. She will be with a group of other children who are all new to the school and they wont all know each other. Sorry I don't know much about the schools inthe area.
The only subject area where she might have difficulty is maths, if she has indeed missed out on a year of maths. But obviously the school will be aware of that and help her. Alternatively you might find she is ahead in some areas particularly if she is bright, but it will balance out.
But I really do feel sorry for her having a short summer holiday!
Good luck with the move.

I'm not sure how you mean she will be jumping a year. P7 in Scotland is equivalent to Y6 in England. And Scottish children generally start school at an older age than English children. Between 4.5 and 5.5, rather than 4 to 5 in England.

As others have said going straight into secondary school will probably be the best for transition.

I went to McLaren High School in Callander, a number of years ago now but it's always had a reputation of being a good School and I believe it still has the reputation. It's been rebuilt in the least 10 years or so and I believe the facilities are good. I may be a little biased but I personally prefer the areas to the North of Stirling, heading towards and around Callander/Trossachs etc to Clackmannanshire. Although if I was to move back to the area I would like to live in Bridge of Allan but very much doubt I could afford it! :-))

Perhaps it's the numnering of Scottish years that is confusing you? In Scotland P1 = YR in England so that P7 = Y6 in England, even though they've done the same number of years at school.

As an October birthday, she'll be in the same school year that she'd be in in England - the year jump thing would only be an issue if she was born between March and August, as in Scotland she'd be in the year below the year she'd be in in England because of the end Feb cut-off for school start. Hope that hasn't confused you further.

midnightexpress you put it so much more clearly than me

Really? I even managed to confuse myself!

We lived in Scotland until our daughter was about 7 and a half and had just started P4, came to England and was told she was in Yr 3, took me a while to get used to it!

And I used to argue with my Scottish husband about the difference in age thing, where the 'cut off month' is end of Feb for Scotland and end of Aug for England

When we moved, our daughter effectively did an extra 4 weeks of school! Started P4 in the Aug, and ended Yr3 in the July in England!

I don't know the area but wish you well! :)

A slightly biased opinion here: 4DDs being educated in Stirling schools and teaching in a Stirling secondary but you couldn't be moving to a nicer part of the world. Have a look at www.ltscotland.org.uk/ your DD would be expected to be working to the third level for most experiences and outcomes.

When choosing a school check out its HMIE report (OFSTED equivilant) as this will show an impartial picture of the strengths of a school. However, unless you are looking at private schools, the catchment area of your address is likely to dictate the school your DD will attend.

Diabetes will be handled sensitively, I have pupils in my classes who medicate the same way as your DD with no problems. Let me know if I can give you a more detailed break down of areas to look at or avoid. Good luck!

Wow! Thanks everyone for all the advice! Seb1 I looked at Parentzone, thanks it's a great site & I will definitely be using it again.
Granny23, we have been looking at a few schools around Clackmannanshire, in particular Lornshill Academy. As for McLaren High I didn't think it was private, I'm not sure, it does look like the type she would enjoy though but we just can't tell from the computer! Lol!
The shortness of the summer holiday break shouldn't be a problem as we have a holiday already booked for October so will have 3 weeks away there. (Yay)
I was a bit confused with 'Jumping' a year as she was told by a friend at school she would be in the year below because when she moved here from Glasgow she had to drop back a year. But this was cleared up after I spoke to someone in the education authority in Scotland. It's so confusing when you are used to a particular way of doing things.
Midnightexpress, thanks it was that what confused us the most but after a phone call got it sorted. But she still likes to think she's 'Jumping' a year! Lol.
Fuctifano, Thanks for the advice, I had a look at the website you suggested & there is loads to look at. Luckily me & DD are not moving up straight away so when we visit DH we can look around the areas & schools & find the best one for us all. I think I am just scared of not getting her into a school that I want & having to settle for second best. Is there a deadline that we need to be decided for to apply for schools or will we have an ok chance if we wait until April/May to decide?

My advice is based on the fact that DH went to Stirling High, I went to Dunblane High, my neice goes to Wallace High and I live in Clackmannanshire. Dunblane high gets the best exam results (and definitely has the highest proportion of English children attending, an important consideration IMO) and is an excellent place to be a teenager but is expensive (which is why i don't live there ATM). Stirling high and Wallace high are quite good. McClaren is good, the only downside is that so many of the kids travel in from very distant parts (I was friendly with some as a teen), it was difficult for them to have a good social life because public transport is not great (I remember some wild sleepovers as a result!). Callender is a bit dull in the winter. I have chosen to send my son to high school outside of Clackmannanshire (sorry Granny) although Alva Academy is fine. I would put Dunblane high first if you have the budget for housing. A Wild card would be Linlithgow, which also has a good school and a short Mway drive to Stirling or Balfron (admittedly a hike).

Mixmash you wont be able to apply for a state school until you have a permanent address. you can certainly have a look around them and find out which have places, but be aware that places may be taken by the time you need them. Secondary school places are in the process of being allocated right now and out of catchment places by March, but don't worry about this, you will get a place somewhere!