Moving to Northumberland

[Katwh7]

We are thinking of relocating to the Alnwick area of Northumberland from the South East. We always holiday in the area and feel very at home there. Myself and my husband are both a bit fed up of the busyness of the SE and just want a slower pace of life, closer to the coast and the countryside.
This will probably be our last opportunity to move for several years as my daughter is going into Yr 11 and my son into Yr 8 - we will be looking to move July/August 2023.
Has anyone done a move similar with teenagers? And does anyone have any recommendations for areas please?
My daughter will be going to sixth form and would like to move whereas my son is less keen!
Any advice appreciated! Thank in advance 😊

Morpeth is better for school than Alnwick. Morpeth's King Edward has an excellent reputation and gets good results.

Alnwick is the Duchess School. That area is transitioning from a three tier (first, middle, high school) system to the more common two tier (primary, secondary) system, but I'm not sure where they are with this at the moment. You'll need to check as the end of middle school is year 8 so it could be a bit of a mess for your son. The Duchess school used to be in a load of very old buildings in the centre of Alnwick but has moved to a new build on the outskirts, so facilities should be good. However the results have always been less good than Morpeth's, and the reputation not as strong.

Avoid going to school in Amble at all costs!

Thank you for the information. We have looked at the Morpeth area as well so it’s definitely worth further consideration!

Morpeth has a bit more going on for teens than Alnwick, and it's easy to get into Newcastle too, so definitely worth considering.

Where did you settle on? Have you considered Hexham? Its beautiful and has brilliant schools. Quite arty and musical.