Multiculural family moving to Exeter area. Please help

[user1499613673]

Hi, I am a mom of 2(aged 7 and 5) from South Korea, my husband white british. We are planning relocating from Birmingham to Devon, to be close to husband's family.
We had brief look in Exeter and surrounding area last week but still have no idea which area to pick. We are working from home( means flexible choice of area) and budget is £37500 tops.
My first concern is my children being the only non white face in the class or even school. I know Devon is very white place but are there traditionally more racially diverse school?
We are only looking for stateschool and not religious, although leaning towards Catholic, I don't mind church of England school as long as the school can take good care of my rather shy and sensitive children in social and academic sides.
Second point is that I prefer to live close to the city centre but my hubby prefers rural and says we can get bigger garden and space for the money. I agree but when the children reaches teens I think they will prefer to live inside the city? Maybe I have a very wrong concept about english villages! Will there be a happy medium?
Please shed some light on this. I really need local's views and help on this.Thanks for reading.

£37500 - is this to buy a property or the monthly rent?!

hi, molly. 37500 for the property. We aren't thinking of renting. We will take the plunge. Thanks for quick reply.

Have you missed a zero? You can't buy for £37,500

Well, this comes in well under budget:

Exeter does has a lot of diversity (for Devon) but the further out of the city you go, the less diversity you get. Look around the university for the most diverse areas. Stoke Hill school is great and is in a lovely area. Most of Exeter is very close to rural areas and so it's not difficult to be near the city and the countryside at the same time.

hi, sorry. Missed out 0 it is £375000.

hi,cancerdun
Thank you. I will look into stokehill now

St Thomas has a fairly diverse community, Bowhill school has many children who are from different ethnic backgrounds, and it caters brilliantly for them ( from things I've heard from the parents) It's a really friendly school , which has an active exchange scheme with a school in Shri Lanka, where the teachers swap over once a year and celebrate the cultures of the visiting guests. The whole school is actively involved and the pupils love it. My daughter goes there, I know you would be very welcomed. Hope this helps xx

Zvandelle, Thank you so much for your assurance. I am getting more confident moving in Exeter area. When I move I would love to be a part of the community and do my share spreading oriental culture. Thanks

Exeter is slowly becoming more multi cultural. In terms of primary schools, St Sidwells probably has the greatest ethnic diversity, but most of the city schools are more diverse than the smaller rural primaries in nearby villages. St Nicholas is a state catholic primary located in the Heavitree/Whipton area.

For secondaries, St James is probably the most ethnically diverse, but again, all city secondaries are more diverse than they were a decade or so ago. St Peters is a state school with a slightly more religious leaning. It used to be seen as more academic than the other city high schools, but I don't think that's fair to say any more. Exeter has a high school system (11-16) so if you want a through school i.e. 11-18 with sixth form, you will need to look outside the city centre eg Clyst Vale Community College which is about five miles from the city centre or else Colyton (nearest grammar to Exeter).

In terms of rural v city, there is a happy medium! We live in a village but can be in the city within 10-15 mins. On the plus, we can also be at the beach or on the M5 in that time too. That wasn't the case when I was based in the city. Look at the villages on the outskirts - Pinhoe, Ide, Shillingford St George, Clyst St Mary, Exminster for the best of both worlds. Alternatively, look at the towns within easy travelling distance of Exeter where again you will get better value for money without it being a dead end for teenagers e.g. Exmouth, Cranbrook, Chudleigh (there are more but these are good value for money with large secondaries nearby).

Rufus27,Thank you so much. I am so much wiser now. I looked in st. sidwell and st nicholas as well as st thomas homepages and ofsted reports. They all seem good options and certainly are diverse enough for my children to feel comfortable. We passed by pinhoe and alphington area last week and found the area very beautiful( I prefered pinhoe personally) We will definitely visit forementioned areas in the next month. Thank you so much for your sharing which means so much for us.

Have PM'd you, OP. I think this might be a good contact for you - they are the body responsible for the educational welfare of children from ethnic minority backgrounds in Devon. www.babcock-education.co.uk/ldp/emtas

Thanks, rufus27.
pm sent

I was also going to say Stoke Hill, this is a lovely school, serves the university crowd as well as the local area, and there are lots of mixed/multi-cultural families, we are one for a start! Lots of families from middle-Eastern cultures, we also know quite a lot of Spanish and other european families. It is not all white, although the more you move out of the city centre (which St Sidwell also serves) the less diverse it gets. Stoke Hill is a fantastic school on a lovely countryside site, and it only just missed its Outstanding rating recently (due to very technical reasons)- if you read the reports you will see the inspectors found nothing whatsoever to improve!