Relocating to Tiverton?

[JM376]

Hi,

We currently live in Kent and are looking to move down to the southwest. My partner is from Bristol and has a lot of work around there and Exeter.

We have potentially found a house in Tiverton, but wondered if anybody had any advice with regards to nice areas, or areas of the town to avoid? There are a few threads already but they are all quite old, so thought the town might have changed a bit since.

We have a two year old and a newborn, and I wouldn’t know anybody in the area, so would be nice to make some mum friends. Can anybody tell me what the area is like for kids? Are there any toddler groups around?

thanks 😊

Having lived in Cullompton I would definitely avoid there, has become fairly rough, I would also avoid Tiverton. Plenty of nicer small villages or if you want more life then Exeter could be for you.

I never managed to find out what was so wonderful about Exeter, tbh. The traffic and pollution were terrible. Much of the city is ugly, including most of the city centre. It was picked on in World War II because in those days it was pretty, and was bombed a few times until it wasn't pretty anymore, and then had loads of horrible 1960s shops put in the city centre. Big roads running through the centre too. I read that it has the most boring high street in the country (just all the boring chains). Plenty of poverty. As I've said, it's a marmite city. People on MN seem to love it, but I know plenty of people who've lived there who really dislike it.

My niece went to Tiverton school and got all A grades except one B. She went on to get a First from Loughborough University. I grew up there and went to school there and went to at Warwick University. I've never seen all the violence mentioned. I left 35 years ago but still visit often. I have great nieces and nephews who have all gone to school there and all done well academically getting into good Universities. Tiverton has a castle, the lovely river Exe, play parks for children. There are not many shops and a lot of charity shops and banks, that is true. Swimming pool and quite a few pubs.

@APurpleSquirrel The Ofsted report is very outdated. Most people locally do try and get their children in there, but certainly when I lived in the area there was loads of bad experiences people had had with Uffculme. My daughter suffered mental health issues because of what it was like. The teachers were cruel, and she was bullied an awful lot with the school taking little action. Consequently I put her in another school eventually. Having had a look online, there is a petition going on against it.

@ladyfromslough I'd be interested to see the petition - do you have a link?
For balance, I have no skin in the game tbh - I live in Wellington & my DC will go to our local secondary which has its own problems but is working on them.
Agree the OFSTED for Uffculme is very old & overdue a visit but I have friends with kids there & they're doing well & like it.

Glad I didn't move house to try and get my dc into uffcolme. @APurpleSquirrel 2 of my dc are at that school you mentioned and it's been really good for them. It wasn't that great when my eldest started but there was a change of head soon after that and she has really changed it around. It has its problems as most secondary schools do but the staff genuinely care about the children and it really shows.

Thanks @elliejjtiny that's reassuring. Friends with kids there atm say the same, the new Head has really started to change it around. I've got a few years before my eldest starts there but we're pretty definite they will as we want to stay here for the time being - Welly is a lovely town.

@APurpleSquirrel here's the petition. I know about it as a friend still lives in that area heard about it. Turns out it was to demand an inspection for the school not to close it. www.change.org/p/demand-inspection-of-uffculme-school

Ahh that makes sense @ladyfromslough especially as it's been like 10 years since it's last inspection. Totally agree it needs to be done as it's just living off this reputation without any real backup.

Oh wow, why do people hate Tiverton so much? It's certainly sleepy and luckily still has some affordable housing and hard working working class residents, but it's a Georgian market town at heart, with a lovely river, many independent shops (often voted the most interesting place to shop in Devon, it definitely has some great galleries and cloths boutiques, and 2 plastic free 'no packaging' shops), a lively Pannier Market sells artisan sougherdough and chocolates, and there are several green grocers, butchers and fish mongers. It has some of the best Georgian architecture in the South West (Pevner rates St George' Church as one of the most beautiful Georgian churches ever designed). The Lost Kitchen is one of the best places to eat in the area and a hit with families. The Heartnoll Hotel also does lovely food and champagne Happy Hours, and you can arrive by helicopter if that is your mode of transport. You can get to London in under 2 hours by train, so many people from Tivvy and surrounding villages work in the city. Heathcoat Cricket club has a magical setting and is a fantastic facility for children and families, offering outstanding coaching and a chance to meet people and go to the Lost Kitchen afterwards. Bickleigh Mill has an amazing indoor and outdoor play centre and railway museum. Tivvy is home of one of most expensive and Tatler beloved public schools in the South West, which dominates part of the centre and the western areas with a lovely Oxford college style squat in the centre (opposite the not so picturesque but useful Tesco) and a huge Victorian campus surrounded by cricket fields. So the town, and the aforementioned Tesco, is full of posh boarders, teachers and parents. There is also a massive M&S food hall and Ocado delivers. Blundells also offers a free! Toddler group twice a week to anyone with little ones, and there is a further session at the (nice and new) local library let by the head of Blundell's pre-prep. There is also a lovely park with paddling pool, a leisure centre, national trusting, 2 castles and of course beautiful Exmoor on the door step. Not everyone in Tivvy is a poor single parent ( and why would that be a bad thing?), there are many multimillion pound houses with swimming pools, ponies etc in and on the outskirts of the town. Admittedly, most of these families tend to have children at Blundells, so like Windsor or Oxford, Tivvy can feel like a town of 2 halves. But Uffculme is rated Outstanding, Tiverton High is rated good. Unfortunately no state 6th form but good buses to Exeter which has an outstanding FE College that serves Tivvy. It's IB program is world beating. The new housing estates are also popular, especially among Blundell's parents as they can walk/bike to school and are save and 'naice', if slightly bland and of course expensive, but they are the same David Wilson and Redrow houses built everywhere else in the country. The council also employs litter pickers who do a daily round. Some people are stupid litterers but you'll find them everywhere. There is some annoying graffiti, but much less than in places like Exeter.

Yes, I'd forgotten about Knightshayes Court. Gorgeous neo-Gothic mansion with topiary and a walled garden.

I have to say Tivvy is not that bad - yes the high street is not great, but there are a few gems in there. There is a lot of wealth surrounding the town and it's surprising there is not regeneration of the town centre. A lot of people have money to spend and M and S is always busy! Blundells School attracts a lot of wealthy families, who i'm sure would love to spend more money in town, but congregate in high end establishments like The Lost Kitchen and Hartnell Hotel. Knightshayes and The Tiverton Canal are lovely places to visit.

To balance the hate on Uffculme School - there was a petition two years ago it got 52 signatures and fizzled out. True - that it is due an inspection, but year on year it is the top performing state secondary school in Devon out of 95 secondary schools in the county.

Just check out the league tables for Devon - only trumped by Colyton which is a selective grammar.

https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/schools-by-type?step=default&table=schools&region=878&geographic=la&for=secondary

My kids went there and did extremely well - our experience was that bullying was dealt with pretty swiftly, but I can't speak for other experience.

Hey OP, friends of mine moved to Ilminster a few years ago and love it. Good community vibes, lovely places to walk, not too far from decent beaches, has larger supermarkets but also independent shops and cafes. It's not that far from Bristol for a day trip, good access to places like cheddar, chew etc. Not sure about schools but overall I'd say it's a solid option. Wish I'd moved when they did!!

We live inbetween collumpton and honiton and i absolutely love both tbh... That said we dont live in the towns so maybe a bit different actually living there