Which Devon grammar for DD?

If I had free choice I'd go for Colyton and move to East Devon.

There are lots of young people at Colyton from Exeter with good buses. Villages/suburbs to the east of Exeter offer good access to the m5/a30 and the Waterloo train line ie Cranbrook, Whimple, Pinhoe, FENITON and all are easy reach of Exeter via public transport for teen activities and outings.

Tinty all I can say is that almost all of all of my DCs' friends and each of my four DDs have worn (or wear) make up. Not masses, but certainly some - mascara, eye liner etc. I'd be irritated by a no make rule which was enforced. Excessive make up probably doesn't have a place but for a lot of people it boosts confidence, especially in the later teenage years. Good luck to a zero policy on make up - it would be appropriate for it to apply to all members of staff too :)

I had a few friends go to Colyton and all enjoyed it and have gone on to great successes too. The friends I had at Maynard's all found the single sex aspect to be an issue as there were no boys to break up the hormonal bitchiness that can come with a huge group of girls together daily. The mixed schools definitely had better friendship groups.

Where ever you look to live, avoid Sidbury. A friend's parents house there has flooded multiple times in recent years causing thousands of pounds worth of damage and they can no longer get any decent insurance due to this. Most villages in East Devon are around rivers, check the flood risk before buying anything.

goodbyestranger I am just going by the school uniform regulations and the fact that my DD and none of her friends wear make up. They don't at weekends either though.

Tinty I'm just wondering where you get the no make up thing at Colyton from!!!! (as in, there's make up galore - very normal amounts of make up. Indeed the school hasn't yet returned any of my DDs home for contravention of make up rules and I suspect some would have kicked up quite a fuss if they hadn't been/ weren't allowed make up. They're also allowed freedom with all sorts of other aspects of appearance such as hairstyles etc. Very sensible too).

There are both productions led by the Drama dept and productions led by students. My DC have been in several.

I travel a lot outside the area and wouldn't choose a village for the few minutes it takes to get from the immediate Colyton area to the main arteries out (M5/ A303). That seems a topsy turvy way to choose a home unless you commute daily - but maybe I think differently from others on that.

Sidmouth is the only other place in the area I'd choose to live apart from where I live now (which is even prettier :)).

Good luck with your choice OP, if you haven't put in the form already. Agree with Malbecfan about single sex education. I'd possibly be ok with it for my boys but absolutely not for my girls.

Hi Op they do have a theatre club at Colyton and put on plays, we have been to a couple, they are very good. They don't dress up for World Book day, but they have a wear a specific colour for certain charities with their uniform a couple of times a year. They have non uniform days every term pretty much.

They also enter into stem competitions each year, 4 teams from Colyton went to the London Science museum and one team won a trophy for the school. There were only 10 teams nationally and 4 were from Colyton.

They have also just got into the finals in Singapore for the F1 in schools competition!

They always compete with the local schools in sports and generally win a few of the competitions.

That seems the right side of Devon for many. We regularly travel to London/ Surrey area(31/2 hours on A303)Bristol and Bath with ease. Take other factors into consideration but travelling up country is really not an issue.

Both are good schools and if your DD has passed the exams for both, well done her! I'm afraid I would not have considered TGGS (just as I wouldn't consider Maynard) because I am vehemently opposed to single sex education. I was forced through it and vowed that I would never subject my own daughters to it. For all those people who will no doubt tell me that boys will do much better in science and push the girls out of the way blah blah, it's not the case at Colyton. DD1 is studying science at Cambridge and DD2 is applying for science courses at present.

OP, if you are likely to have to travel north to visit family, you might be better off closer to the M5. Heading towards the South Hams, Dartmoor etc. will add to your journey time, especially in the summer.

My DD is at Colyton and loves it. She is not at all a girly girl and is always in with the boys/girls doing science techy clubs at lunch.

DC are not allowed to wear make up at Colyton which I personally think is a good thing. The DC there don't seem bothered because no one wears it. I suspect there are some fantastic at natural looks wearing make up, but most don't bother.

I think they are quite hot on mental health issues, my dd tells me the school talk about good MH a lot. They also called me one day when my dd had been on a school trip with food provided and she hadn't eaten much. It was a really hot day and she had had a cake in the morning break and a banana for lunch. She didn't fancy the sandwiches provided. I thought it was quite good that they brought that to my attention.

The school is very good at keeping you informed about everything going on and they can do lots of different sporty or academic lunchtime clubs.

Op check out www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk if you haven't already...
Several bus companies run services to Colyton from as far out as Exeter, just for info I pay around £900 per year from a village halfway between Exeter and the school.

If you look on the school website you can see all the 3 coach company details. A&B run loads and lists all the pick ups which could give you living location ideas. Pretty sure there is a public bus stop some of their friends use directly outside school. But ring and check to be sure.

My dc's friends don't seem to have any problems with it to the station v near school. But. op you might want to check all transport to both. Private bus,public and trains.

(By its vulnerability, I mean not having all trains cancelled every time there's a puff of wind).

The gender split is now even - the uneven split was a historical blip lasting only a couple of years, maybe three.

Gladrag I'd really worry about the rail commute through Dawlish, until it's vulnerability is improved.

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I think you're splitting hairs when looking at the data. Both are clearly excellent schools and the pupil breakdown/ catchment is quite different. As I said TGGS has nearly double the. amount of PP kids although both are below the national average. Interestingly there seems to be a 55/45% boy/ girl split at Colyton. Are you happy with that?I have to say I'm a convert to girls only education. There a big advantages re confidence. My mousechild has blossomed.Look at other factors. What is the 6th form criteria and alternatives if she doesn't make it? There will be competition.Also where would you want to live? It goes so quick and you could end up staying after. Look at school bus routes and cost if a factor. Think about your commute.

In every pole I've seen and gov.uk site Colyton's results are better, (DofE rates them best co-ed school in England and highest scoring school in SW) however both are great (being selective of course they are!) and clearly other factors are as important. As pupils come from far afield, Colyon try to run many clubs at lunchtime, they are very varied across sports and arts. I haven't had cause to test their pastoral care, I may have been lucky there or maybe they are getting it right! Also no 'body image' issues that I am aware of, although I'm sure there is a an element of that at every school. Having experience of both, I'd say where you want to live is probably key. To the West of Exeter, TGGS and to the East, Colyton. Whilst I know children who go to to Colyton from North Devon & East Dorset (and I'm sure the same applies for TGGS) you do have to think how long you want your DD to be on a bus for twice a day.

What sort of place would you like to live in? Exeter is a lovely city but I like the beaches/ areas near the south hams and being near Dartmoor. Exeter can be less than half an hour away,many commute to Exeter for work.

My dd is in her third year and very qwerky, def not cool, no pressure to be.There seems to be a lot like her and a presumption that all are intellectual and bright.A strong work ethic seems to be the norm( not so much in my dd😂) They collaborate more with the boys in lessons at A level but travel together from year 7 and meet up on the shared paddock before school. Think the musicals are collaborations between both schools and there are discos for both together. My dc have friends at both schools and meet up with both outside of school. Not sure re phones. I know TBGS are v vigilant. Any spotted are confiscated. One of my boys lost his for checking a text between classes. You get an email. 😳 Not sure what the policy is at the girls, will ask dd.Dd is always going on about how nobody is ever naughty at her school . I’m sure that can’t be true but they do seem quite focused and very studious compared to her primary.

I have children in TGGS and TBGS and have been very impressed with both. If you look at the data there is very little between Colyton and TGGS. TGGS has higher pp kids( double Colyton) but both are sadly obviously well below the national average. The pastoral care in both TGGS and TBGS is excellent. My dd has SEN and the provision for that had been on the whole very good too. She is very happy and there doesn’t seem to be any bullying . Respect seems to be pushed quite vigorously.The girls are very supportive of each other which has been a contrast to the experience of her friends in co-ed schools. TGGS is very good at giving the girls confidence and pushing them to strive to reach their max potential in all areas, aim high in the workplace etc.There are loads of extra curricular activities. The girls come from all over. Some come from Exeter, the gorgeous South Hams, Teign Valley, Dartmoor..... all far nicer areas imvho than that surrounding Colyton. There is a very good private bus service to these areas. They only go out in Torquay if they live there. My dd doesn’t as like many of her friends she doesn’t live there and is too busy. She has made friends all over and meeting up is easy thanks to phones. Did you visit Churston? We were impressed with that too but it was too far for us.

I went to TGGS and have DC at Colyton, obviously my experience of TTGS is a long time ago but in my opinion Colyton is a better choice in terms of pastoral care, being co-ed and definitely results-wise. Having grown up in Torquay, I would also opt for East Devon generally (all the places mentioned as well as Woodbury, West Hill, Whimple, Feniton if you're looking for a village) as opposed to South Devon, although there are some stunning parts of South Devon too. I don't think you can go too far wrong either way, but I'd go Colyton/East Devon, good luck!