Independent schools Edinburgh and Glasgow NO saturdays

[MTLG]

Hi all,

We are thinking of leaving London and moving up to Scotland for a better quality (price) of life. DH is a medical consultant and I am a primary teacher so we can move anywhere but we are most interested in Edinburgh and Glasgow as we have both always lived in large cities and enjoy the cultural activities associated.

DD will be starting year 7 shortly and we are interested in finding an independent school which crucially does not have Saturday lessons/fixtures. She is very strong academically, particularly in maths and science, and enjoys artsy extra curriculars but has zero interest in sport. Also, being Canadian myself I am not familiar with this idea of sending children to school on the weekend and it is not something that would suit our family dynamic. We would choose our location based on school.

Any ideas for good Scottish independent schools with no Saturday? Thanks!

I have lived in both Edinburgh & Glasgow,Both Fantastic but different cities
Have also lived and worked in Ldn
Your money will go further regards property,and a good range of housing stock (new apartments, period property,tenements) in both Edinburgh & Glasgow

Journey times are considerably shorter,and in Glasgow although underground gets busy it’s not the scale or duration of Ldn underground busy

You’ll need to do a conversion course to teach in Scotland,unless you trained there. Teaching is well respected in Scotland

Medicine in Scotland is varied and well respected but the career progression isn’t as speedy as it is in London. And obviously Glasgow and Edinburgh are socioculturally and economically different from Ldn. You get the same issues and challenges but just not with frequency. There are national centres and specialisms that are solely located in London

I have never heard of mandatory Saturday participation at school, there will be school Fayre etc

Edinburgh has higher participation in private school at @25% at secondary school

In Glasgow it’s much less participation

Just a nod to acknowledge that private school is slightly contentious in Glasgow,less so in Edinburgh

I’d chose location based on employment and how it suits you all as a family

I am generalising but Glasgow is more urban and fast paced than Edinburgh

Both have great food,shopping,galleries and amazing countryside accessible by car

Do you want your DD to follow English or Scottish Exams that may help determine what schools to look at. In Scotland the cut off date for starting school is different so you need to determine which year your daughter would go into as well, in Scotland she may not be moving up to secondary but be in P7 which is last year of primary school.

I don’t know Edinburgh or Glasgow schools well but think that those that are largely day schools don’t have school on Saturdays. Take a look at Mary Erskine in Edinburgh.

DC are at Watson’s (Edinburgh). There’s no Saturday school- I don’t think any of the Edinburgh day schools have Saturday school? There are fixtures on a Saturday but only if your child plays rugby or hockey and there’s certainly no requirement for them to play!

Oh, and you could also post this on Scotsnet if you wanted more responses.

You might want to ask schools what they might do on a Saturday rather than rigidly ruling it out up front. We always used to think it was an undesirable intrusion but our son got into a high commitment sport rather unexpectedly and now really looks forward to a morning having fun that is a good balancing item and means he is outside rather than sitting on the iPhone! We have worked around it. I wouldn’t be keen on lessons though.

Haste ye to Edinburgh! It's a fantastic place to live and bring up children - I moved here when mine were primary school aged and I haven't regretted it for a single second. Seriously, though, I think both cities have a lot going for them, with loads of cultural activities if that's your bag. Edinburgh's smaller and easier to get around, and has the buzz of the festivals in the summer which I absolutely love. But you should probably visit both and see what you think.

As someone said upthread, the Edinburgh independent day schools don't have Saturday schools. There are quite a few to choose from - the main ones are Heriots, Watsons, Edinburgh Academy, Mary Erskine (which is a girls' school in the secondary phase but twinned with a boys' school and I think 6th forms are mixed) and St Georges (girls). I have colleagues with children at both Heriots and Watsons and they always seem happy enough, but I don't have direct experience of any. There's also Loretto where my neighbours' children go and they speak very highly of it, but they have Saturday school so probably not an option for you unless this is negotiable.

Thank you all for your help and expert knowledge. My sister went to uni in Edinburgh so I know it is a beautiful place with a huge amount to do so it definitely tops my list. Although I am attracted to the vibrancy of Glasgow as it may be closer to our pace of life in London.

I will check out the schools you have mentioned, and I am really pleased to hear that most do not require saturdays. DH’s job means that he occasionally works weekends and it wouldn’t necessary work with exiats if we wanted to see family etc so I would rather steer clear.

I definitely have some work to do now. Thanks you all.

If you end up seriously considering Watson’s, feel free to drop me a note. Both my children started in P7 and are now S5 & S2. DS is strong in Maths and sciences while DD likes the arty extracurriculars. Neither play sports with Watson’s so between them I can give you feedback on the school and those particular areas which seem to be your DD’s interests.

Just to chip in for Glasgow, I went to Glasgow High School. Many moons ago. But it has always been considered one of the best schools in Scotland. It is pretty down to earth and also very academically successful. Lots of opportunities. And, of course, I love Glasgow

Hi OP out of interest do schools in Ldn do Saturday activities?are they mandatory?
You’ve had a lot of information

Of note,house buying in Scotland is completely different from Ldn
Sales managed by solicitors and bids are final (no gazumping) take a look at ESPC
Offers are usually offers above and sealed bids are common

I recommend in no particular order (they are all nice)

• Dean village
• Stockbridge
• Barnton
• Morningside
• Marchmont

Further afield North Berwick, lovely on outskirts Edinburgh

And finally don’t mention the trams...just no. Unless yiu have a spare hour to listen to a rant about waste of money,unnecessary etc

Hi lipstick,

No, schools in London tend to be Monday to Friday day schools. The reason why i’ve asked about the Saturdays is because I have had a few friends leave London and find out the hard way about weekend lessons. I have heard that Saturday school is so commonplace at independents outside of London that schools don’t even bother to mention it on their websites...

I have visited Dean Village and Stockport, both of which are lovely, and my sister lived in Marchmont so spend a fair bit of time there in the past. All such lovely neighbourhoods. We are going up during February half term to have a look around both Edinburgh and Glasgow!

Haha ok i will keep quiet about trams!

Not aware of Saturday school being a thing at any of the Glasgow private options. As well as the High School you could consider Glasgow Academy and Hutchesons Grammar or if you wanted slightly smaller and out of town St Columba's in Kilmacolm, St Aloysius is the Catholic option. All are co-ed. The High School, Academy and Hutchie all have fairly detailed information on what exam subjects their students are taking and grades achieved on their website. Hutchie also has a good round up of Leaver Destinations.
The results for them all are pretty much the same and at the top end.

They all have good sporting facilities but especially for girls I wouldn't say participation is anything other than optional.

For children of doctors private school would be the norm rather than the exception even in Glasgow. However if you wanted the English rather than the Scottish exam system you would be better served in Edinburgh.

Saturday school, discounting being in any kind of sports team, is really the preserve of the (proper) boarding schools. I say (proper) because some day schools offer boarding but in reality it is for a tiny fraction of the school cohort therefore they don’t do school on a Saturday morning like they do in boarding schools.

So, if you stick to day schools you won’t have compulsory Saturday school.

Can’t speak for Glasgow as I have no experience but in Edinburgh that means all the privates except Fettes, Merchiaton (but it’s for boys anyway) and Loretto.

All the day schools with the exception of St. George’s school for girls follow the Curriculum for Excellence. St George’s does the English GCSE syllabus with a combination (I seems to remember) of Scottish Highers and A Levels in lower and upper 6th. It might be worth while looking at both syllabuses to see which you prefer since you have the option if you decide to move to Edinburgh.

Fernhill School
St Aloysius
Hutchison's Grammar

I know people who went to all three private schools and all three are highly thought of.
It just depends what's size and type of school you want. If you need anything else let me know.

Areas to live will tie in with school choices too.

Hi, we live in North Edinburgh and wondered if there were many kids commuting to GWC from there - my daughter due to start S1 in August.

I believe Loretto's in Musselburgh do Saturday morning schooling so you might want to cross it off your Edinburgh list.