best secondary school in edinburgh

[nikifromnassau]

Hi, my DD is at Stewart's Melville but is not challenged at all. I'm thinking of moving her. Does anyone have any suggestions. If I were in England would def. go for a grammar school but apparently there aren't any in Scotland, even if they are called grammar schools, they actually aren't.

I was having a conversation about this recently and it was mentioned that a few people had moved their academically inclined children from their first choice secondary schools to Heriots.

We have a comprehensive education system in Scotland, you won't find any selective state schools - though the usual selection-based-on-ability-to-afford-catchment-area goes on. Have you spoken to the school about your dd's lack of challenge?

St. George's girls school in Edinburgh seems to get great results or for co-ed there is always Fettes. How would your DD feel about leaving her friends though?

Do you mean Mary Erskine's? or is she still junior school?

I don't know anything about junior as all the girls local to me go to local primaries then Mary Erskines for secondary... the secondary school workload is pretty robust in my experience (i do out-of-school activities with girls in S1,2 and 3). St George's is stricter than Mary E but seems similar workload. Heriots seems to cultivate more 'all-round' development than purely academic.

Sorry but you don't make sense. You say your DD is at Stewart's Melville, but that is a boy's school. You also go on to say that if you were in England you would consider a grammer so must be talking about secondary school. Please clarify.

In terms of academics most if not all of the independant schools in Edinburgh (eg ESMS, Watsons, Heriots, EA, St Georges) get far better exam results across the board than the top state schools (Gillespies, Boroughmuir, Balerno, Royal High, Currie, Firrhill, St Thomas). So if your DD is not challenged then I cannot see how she (or he?) will be better off in the state sector. Have you spoken to the school?

Just for information purposes OP:-
The term "Grammar School" in Scotland is just a historical carry-over from the days before Comprehensives. They just kept the title in the same way a "High School" or an "Academy" did/does.
So a large town might have a Grammar School, an Academy and a High School. But they are all comprehensive and take in pupils on catchment area.
All Scottish Secondary schools are comprehensives unless they are in the independant sector.

Does anyone want to state the obvious and say that there might be something wrong with the dd's attitude to work or motivation, rather than there being no school in the country good enough for her?