West Buckland / Shebbear

[Devon12341]

We are considering both for our ds and dd, 7 & 4. Does anyone have any experience with these schools they can share? Both ds & dd are outgoing, full of life, active...well, we do live in Devon ;)
TIA

Bumpy bump

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Hi, I just came across your thread looking if there were any posts about WBS, I have heard great things about it and they have an open day 6th May. Haven't heard much about Shebbear only that is is much smaller and a bit more out of the way.

Visited both. WBS is impressive but completely out on a limb, miles from anywhere. We feel it is struggling slightly to stay relevant with modern needs, to equip kids for the work environment for 2030 and beyond. A lot of parental resistance to laptops and tablets, for example...
Shebbear looks good but the exam results seem comparable to Chulmleigh, so not convinced it is worth the money.

Would say Shebbear is also out on a limb, geographically speaking!

Shebbear is situated between major towns and the west coast. It's not out on a limb, it's in Mid-Devon. Unless you consider every town and village in Devon out in a limb once you pass Exeter?
WBS is really quite remote being right up in North Devon, hence relies more heavily on weekly and full-time boarders than any other private school in Devon.

You’re probably right, I’m just thinking of the specific site of each of them! We are looking at 6th forms and it’s a stark contrast in terms of the FE colleges locations & the independence of their students.

We also have a 7 and 4 year old and also considering WBS - curious about your mention that they are resistant to preparing children for work environment of the future. We were told on our visit all children issued with devices in Y5. Wondering if your future work refers to something else specific? Genuinely curious as despite it being quite remote, we found our visit positive.

The parents, not the school. The parents don't want it. The school were the ones who told me so.
Look, it's in a pretty backward part of the country, by anyone's standards. It depends what you want. I am sure the kids enjoy their time at school there.
We liked the school but we are not sure it is really going to actually prepare our child very well for the real world. And that makes it all a bit pointless really, in our view. Our concern was that reality is going to be an earth shattering shock for kids who have been brought up whilst surrounded by peers that are stuck in a time warp. And the kids and parents would appear frighteningly out of touch with their respective generations, which putting it another way implies they don't have a clue what their kids are up to. Lot of drugs in Devon, especially in the rich kids environment. Lots to consider.

Interesting @Devon12341 we know a fair few WBS parents who I would say are pretty average normal parents?!

Drugs definitely a big issue, and been extremely unimpressed by the attitude of some of the teens I know there.

Where else are you considering?

Options are limited here. I think the private sector needs serious reform to remain relevant. No interest in lumbering my child with a £50,000 debt with interest accruing for a pointless degree in the future either. Whole private school / Uni system is at the end of an era.
Likely wind up better off as a bricklayer earning 60k a year with no debt to start off with whatsoever, than the average Uni graduate nowadays.
Chulmleigh probably, we are in catchment and it gets better grades. I could also fund my kids house deposit with the money I would save. But keeping an open mind for now.