We are considering relocating to South Devon (prob either Exeter area or Ashburton area) from Herts within the next year, and need to find a state secondary school for Sept 2016. We are anticipating teething trouble with our very shy son, so good pastoral care is high on our list or criteria. Ideally it would be a smaller school, but I'm keeping an open mind on that. Are there any parents out there with children who attend either of the above schools? I'm concerned that South Dartmoor is (a) too big and (b) too much of a focus on sport (son not sporty). Concerned that the Kings School might be too focussed on results at the expense of pastoral care as is sometimes the case with high-achieving schools.
Any other recommendations or advice welcome. In my own town, I know all the 'word of mouth' critiques and anecdotes about each school, but have only the OfSTED reports and school websites to go on for the Devon schools. I'd really like to have a shortlist by the time it gets to Open Days.