Schools around Edinburgh

[searchingforschool]

I will be moving to Scotland next year with my son now 15 for his education. I am completely new to UK.
Could somebody please advice me on good schools in the outskirts of Edinburgh. I read about East/West/Mid Lothian. Could someone advice which of these places has good schools. I also heard about grammar schools. How to find out which school is a grammar school? I also read on various threads on mumsnet that state schools in Scotland are quite good.
Could anyone please elaborate more on schools around Edinburgh area.
I would be thankful.
Many thanks!

yes,bathgate and armadale, are deprived

the OP isn't going to like this, but i'd say that moving to an area SPECIFICALLY for a school is very odd and shortsighted and not a way i would organise my life.

a child's future is so much more than the reputation of the school they attend, it's how they fit with that school, it's where you live in relation to the school and the implications for commuting and afterschool activities, it's the wider community, out of school activities and also parents' jobs and how much time they have at home vs. commuting etc.

the OP is fairly reasonable to be asking about schools but seems too fixated on just schools, rather than the wider picture.

thats harsh. i live in area with vg schools that determined purchase of house
we knew moving here that schools were good and yes specifically moved here for that reason. tbh think you'll find plenty folk do so

we were fortunate in being able to chose an area to move to.a good school was important to us,and being able to make that choice of course we did

life pre-kids lived different part of city,v different accomodation. after kids changed area and made adjustments inc choosing a property with good adjacent schoosl

Well if you're moving to commute to somewhere specific, like Edinburgh and your criteria is just - must be within a certain radius, why would you not look at where had a suitable school as well?

I can't say I'd move somewhere just for a school, but surely it'd be a factor? I'd definitely avoid places where I didn't like the schools

but the OP has said she's not moving to within commuting distance of anywhere specificially and that the entire move is for the school.
IMO no individual school in isolation is good enough to direct a whole life like that.

we chose where to live to be near vg schools
as parents we are fortunate we can do it.it was a significant factor in choosing area to live in,and yes did factor in school strongly.discounted areas with not so good schools

We chose to leave the Edinburgh area in order for our kids to have the opportunity to go to a good school with a good secondary school.

could someone please explain how to interpret the results on this website:
www.boroughmuir.edin.sch.uk/information/educational_statistics/boroughmuir.htm

I guess not everyone is fortunate enough to have a good entire picture that fits well!:(
sometimes in life we have difficult choices to make and trying to give your child a good education is not a bad thing to do.
Of course I will have to shortlist schools and visit them and also areas nearby to get a feel of where we can stay.
I agree with scottishmummy parents have to sometimes shift near good schools.

It was one of the best decisions we made, tbh. Don't feel sad about it or regret it at all. The schools are good, the air is clean, the area is rich in culture and history, the people are lovely. All sorts of pluses.

your link of course your going to try locate to a good school if at a. not as if you'd chose a bad school, to locate to.that would be bizarre.

boroughmuir vg school
low absenteeism
high pass rate in s and h grade and at good grades
48% into higher ed eg uni from 5th yr

im not teacher, so hopefully someone knowledgeable tell you more i depth

You have to open up the additional links to Education Authority Statistics and National Statistics and compare them.

So, for instance, 48% of pupils from Boroughmuir went on to Fulltime Higher Education, compared with 30% across Edinburgh, and 31% nationally.

Dear all,

Many thanks for all your messages. I read all of them and gave it a good thought.
I live in a place where kids studying in good schools would be academically strong but schools use a top down approach in teaching. Even a co or extra curricular activity is done only for getting grades. In "O"levels children have to study 8 or subjects and get at least 6 As to get into a good school. For University the requirement is even tough. Actually future of a kids is decided before the age of 10 years. If a child is unable to focus he/she may not be able to rise again. Kids are not really free to express themselves.
The main good point is they learn discipline!!
For me a balanced approach is better. And I am looking for such a school!
I will for sure visit a few schools to get to know them better before I send my son to a school in a new place.