Help and guidance for parents choosing a school in Scotland: school details, placing requests, Gaelic schools, Denominational education, Centres of Excellence, Independent schools and Home education.
Which School?
Education authorities set out catchment areas for each of their primary schools, each of which is associated with a secondary school.
Denominational education
Denominational schools are run in the same way as other education authority schools. The majority of denominational state schools in Scotland are Roman Catholic.
Home education
Parents are legally responsible for providing education for their child, most parents send their child to school but it is permissible to educate your child at home.
Gaelic medium education
You’ll find Gaelic-medium education in 63 primary schools (2008/09 session). There’s also more and more education in Gaelic at pre-school, in secondary schools and in further education.
Independent schools
Independent schools are not part of the state funded system, they are often referred to as Private or Fee-paying schools.
Centres of excellence
Do you have a talented child? They may benefit from attending one of Scotland’s six national centres of excellence – schools which allow gifted children to maximise their potential.
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