The East Midlands

[weekfour]

We're looking at an impending move to the East Midlands for work. It's looking like the office is likely to be in Mansfield and we'd like to be within 90 minutes commute by car.

My daughter currently attends an excellent comp which I'm really torn about leaving. She didn't sit an 11+ because it's not relevant where we live at the moment. I'm after some help finding where the good schools are.

We're currently in a relatively expensive part of Greater Manchester and am hoping we'll be able to get a bit more house for our money too. Looking for a 4 bed house with space for two people to WFH. I'm happy for us to share an office.

Hit me with your recommendations of areas to visit. Good schools, don't mind being rural-ish but need decent supermarket relatively close and decent shopping with 45 mins. We like cycling and dog walking. A nice pub would be a bonus!!

The only semi nice bit of Mansfield is Berry Hill. The rest of it is not nice. Rough and run down. Berry Hill is nice but it is very firmly Mansfield and not a separate place.

As others have said, no grammar schools here. You’d need to be in Lincolnshire.

School wise you really would be best looking at Southwell (if you can get in..)

Mansfield and north Notts is not diverse. It's very deprived white working class. Nottingham central is more diverse but more expensive to live.

Some replies on this thread are very offensive to residents who live in these areas.

A friend's dd got into a Lincs grammar mid year after not sitting 11plus. She had to sit a test at the school. This will depend also whether of not there are spaces in her year. It's quite unusual to have a space.

For example my dd passed the 11plus but didn't get a space as over subscribed (the school made offers on distance) and she stayed on the waiting list for 5 years and never got a place.

I would say Newark is run down and deprived these days. Town centre is dying. I used to go for a day out/shopping and wouldn't bother now. Schools are bad.

Friends have kids at Tuxford and are happy enough. Edwinstowe is a nice village, lots of other little nice villages around there. Avoid Ollerton.

Southwell is lovely, good school.

Those people know that the towns/villages spoken of are not great areas.

I own a house in an area mentioned as not nice. It’s actually not a bad place to live with lots of facilities but I’m not kidding myself that it’s desirable.

They still have to pass the test and it depends if they have a space. Do you have a boy or girl? Distance is an issue. Great schools though if you can manage it.

A lot of East Midlands is lovely , Mansfield is deprived but south Nottinghamshire is great , good schools great private schools also and look at the villages as well as West Bridgford . Also consider Southwell and Newark

Collingham, Fernwood, Newark and everywhere between these, such as Fullbeck, Brant Broughton etc have a bus service to the Grammar schools in Sleaford and some also go to the Grammar schools in Grantham via school buses.

I have lived in and around Nottingham my entire life. I live in Ilkeston now. It's a dump and I'd be absolutely fine with other people saying it's a dump. It's a fact. Mansfield is also a dump.

By the way, Queen Elizabeth Grammar School is actually a comprehensive school. The name is historic, harking back to when it was set up in Elizabethan times

The Kings Grammar school in Grantham has a good reputation. Bottesford is a lovely village on the way to Grantham.

Most people commenting do live in these areas...

I’m really sorry that happened to your niece and it’s poor. I hope she has been able to move forward. Of course I am not suggesting she should laugh. I’m sure there is bullying and unpleasantness there. There is at any school sadly. Thought that doesn’t excuse it or his it was dealt with there. I was assaulted at the school I taught at and told nothing would be done.

My point was rather that plenty of people still are very keen to send their kids there, and it is still a school with good teaching and learning. I guess most people don’t know your niece’s story. I apologise that my flippant post upset you :(

Edwinstowe is ok, but certainly not highly desirable.
Only Southwell and villages, or Bridgford (not rural) are desirable. And house prices are commensurate with that.

Apols @ToootTooot even now I haven’t expressed myself well. I felt the implication of some of the posts about Ecclesbourne was that no one would want to send their DC there – and I was smiling wryly because that is certainly not the case – as the house prices in the village will attest. Again, I am really sorry to upset you.

It’s funny that I am somehow in the position of singing Ecc’s praises (kind of) when it’s actually a school we chose not to send out DC to! Tbh a lot of this is moot as I doubt in-year places for a year 7 come up there very often.

Southwell and Southwell villages plus Ravenshead, Papplewick, Linby (between Nottingham and Mansfield) are the desirable villages to the south and east of Mansfield. There isn’t much that is desirable to the North or West of Mansfield. NE Derbyshire in particular should be avoided if you are BME.

You have to research carefully. Ravenshead is highly sought after with great primary schools and facilities (although you have to use the private senior schools or Southwell at secondary level). On the edge of Ravenshead is Newstead Abbey Park which is a gated location for multi million pound homes. Literally on the other side of Newstead Abbey Park however (literally though a private gate) is Newstead village. Newstead village is an ex mining village and very deprived. If someone says they live in “Newstead” then they either mean Newstead Abbey where houses cost millions or Newstead village where they struggle to give them away and you can buy a three bed for less than £90k

Which one? Gainsborough Queen Elizabeth Grammar is still a Grammar.

Edwinstowe is improved by it's walking distance proximity to Sherwood Forest as well as being close to Clumber and Sherwood Pines. For the OP who likes dog walking and cycling it could be an option.

They must have improved, they were terrible in my day!

Chesterfield is a nice little town, with lots of nice villages around it. St Mary's is orbaku the best school (RC) but Brookfield is also now pretty good I think.
Nice villages- Old Brampton, Holymoorside, Barlow, Cutthorpe. All commutable to Mansfield.

There are no grammar school in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire or Leicestershire. I believe Lincolnshire still has them, but that will be to far away.

Ashbourne if you want a smaller, prettier town maybe-don't know about schools.
I also like Matlock.

My sister used to live in Edwinstowe. It was ok. But she was very isolated there.

Sorry. I mean Ashbourne, Queen Elizabeth Grammar School is a comprehensive

The best State school in Derbyshire (despite the recent inspection controversy) in Ecclesbourne in Duffield, nr Derby. An alternative could be Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Ashbourne which is also very good. Both lovely areas to live with nice villages/countryside around. Also Etwall school isn't too bad (John Port I think). I went to ecclesbourne and my mother taught at QEGs. Those are definitely the areas that I would head to.

Ecclesbourne - villages to look at - Duffield, Little Eaton, Hazelwood, Weston Underwood, windley, quordon, parts of Allestree and Darley Abbey.

I'm less familiar with the catchment for QEGs, but Ashbourne and surrounding villages (Hulland Ward, Carsington and that sort of area. Ashbourne has sadly slumped a bit in terms of its town centre. It used to be really lovely, but now is in decline.

You'll have to look up the catchment for John Port.