uk to scotland : looking for new start

[LochHart]

Hello to all ( and thankful for any and all help )I'm new to the internet way of things recently had this site recommended : My child is preparing for sats and then yr7,who totally thrives on school as I am a single parent currently in training to be a driving instructor, I am looking into a new start for us both, yet I am worried about being English in a Scottish school ( does this create any conflict ) as my lad is on the shy side and tends to not " stand up for himself " any ideas on a suitable school . as I will be renting until we are settled in with very little start up funds any ideas on best or worst places .

Lochhart there is a Scotsnet area on this site under other stuff in topics which might be useful. Do you have any idea where you'd like to land? Central belt for example? I don't have a child in secondary school here (Aberdeen) but it's a nice place to live.

Thanks for the reply passportmess we visited loch ness an surrounding areas last year and the visit is still with us today ( we have been abroad a couple of times and is forgotten a week later ! ) Aberdeen really does have appeal to me my Yorkshire tounge might be lost though - any ideas on areas to look/avoid as where we are has a few drug / crime issues I am keen to keep my lad away as much as possible .

I'm in the Bridge of Don suburb of Aberdeen which to my mind is very safe. The local academy is Old Machar and Ds is in a feeder primary. Renting was costly here, may have fallen slightly with oil price drop.

I'm Irish and really like living in Scotland. You might look at Scotsnet on here about school/exam differences.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/scotsnet

I second the advice to ask on Scotsnet. ^

Would you prefer city, town or country living? All have pros and cons, and all will have issues with drugs; teen dc in very rural areas have few other distractions, but it's mainly weed rather than harder drugs ime. I suspect crime levels are similar to rUK. (And we're still UK, btw!)

The vast majority of dc in Scotland go to their catchment schools, so we don't have the kind of sink schools you find down south, and you can look pretty much wherever you fancy living.

Being English in Scotland isn't as "bad" as it was in the past, but may well be commented upon; best way to reply is to emphasise his Yorkshireness.

You might find the accent in Aberdeen and surrounding areas a little difficult to understand, and I say that as an Aberdonian with Doric speaking family.

Welcome to MN, and I hope you'll find somewhere you and your ds can settle happily. :)

You might find it helpful not to say you're wanting to move from the UK to Scotland though. That's the kind of thing that'll get Scottish backs up, seeing as how they're in the UK...

PS, if you end up looking at a school called XYZ "Academy", it doesn't mean what it means in England. It's the same as Secondary or High School. Depending on his birthday, your dc may be going into Primary 7 rather than secondary when you first move.

As Hirples says all kids tend to go to the local schools. When registering my Ds for primary, I was worried that there might not be a place for him but was told by the school that there'd have to be as he was in the catchment area.

Good point about Academies Hirples!

Thanks for replying everyone , I'm as new to computers as I am this site ,still finding my feet .

new title : Yorkshire to Scotland :
my lads b/day is march in Yorkshire he is y6 if we moved tomorrow what yr group would he be ?

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Scotland]

I think he'd be in Primary 7 this year and S1 next year but I'm no expert. List of years and equivalents above on wiki.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Scotland