Moving to Scotland from Ireland
Families from Ireland will find a different structure of primary and secondary school, and different exams.
Which class would my child be in?
Guidance only: the school and council make the final placement decision. Cut-offs: Scotland 1 March, England and Wales 1 September, Northern Ireland 2 July.
What's different
- Children are placed in a class by date of birth. The cut-off is 1 March: children born March to February start P1 together in August.
- Primary is P1–P7 and secondary S1–S6. Each address has a catchment school, often one non-denominational and one Catholic.
- The school year starts in mid-August.
Exams and university
- Instead of the Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate, pupils take National 5s (usually S4), Highers (S5) and Advanced Highers (S6).
- Scottish universities accept the Leaving Certificate; check each course's entry requirements.
Getting a school place
- Find your catchment school for the exact address you will live at (it may not be the nearest school).
- Contact the council's education department, or the school, to enrol. Councils usually ask for proof of address and your child's birth certificate or passport; some only enrol once you are living there.
- For a different school, make a placing request to the council. For an August start, councils usually take these between December and February.
- If a placing request is refused, you can appeal, usually within 28 days.
General guidance, not an admissions decision or a formal comparison of qualifications. Moving from somewhere else? England · Wales · Northern Ireland · United States · another country