TEACHING in DEVON- TOTNES area... and which school to send dds to

[noonar]

hi, we have (almost) decided to make the huger decision of moving to the totnes area. i would be really delighted to hear from any Mners with knowledge of local schools and family friendly local villages. (we are not lentil weavers as such but are from brighton so feel at home with the totnes vibe!)

i need to try to short list local schools with a view to sending my 5 and 8 yo dds to one of them. we are looking for a good local primary in a semi rural area, within 3 miles or so of totnes. we thought dartington might be a good bet as it seems to serve a larger area than most village schools.

we will be renting when we first move down, but looking to buy soon after. it would therefore not make sense to enroll the dds's at a tiny school close to where we rent, as they may then have to move again.

also, as a primary school teacher , i am interested to know about emplyoment prospects in the area, for septmeber. do any of you know whether many teaching vacancies usually come up in this area?(obv its hard to tell at this time of year as so little movement, jobwise)

many thanks for any advice

grr, my thread title was meant to say 'LIVING and teaching in totnes...' not just 'teaching'. hope i dont miss out on advice from non teachers...

bump

I don't know about Totness but my friend teaches in mid Devon and says when ever there is a vacancy they have around 100 applicants. Teaching in Devon is very popular!
Good luck.

I'd say dartington would be a good start. That way if you move you may still be in the catchment area.

There are a lot of primary schools in Ivybridge area and jobs may come up there more (i don't know as i'm not a teacher), i just know there are a lot of schools. But ivybridge doesn't have the totnes 'vibe'. The commute from dartington area isn't too bad though.

Do you def want a state school? Because Park School in Dartington is a private school but cheap and with a progressive ethos. It's idyllic, totally idyllic. Dartington Primary used to have a great reputation but it heard it went down hill a bit. Don't rely on that though as it's second hand gossip. Landscove primary used to have a great reputation too.

Ashburton is a lovely town to live in and v near the moor and good transport links. But it's about a 20 min drive to Totnes. Totnes itself is good for amenities and a bigger social life, but it's less "pretty". Ivybridge has a great secondary school but has always struck me as a dull place ( sorry Ivybridgers!).

It is a bit dull in ivybridge. it's got everything you need..good schools, library, pool, shops etc, but lacks that something that totnes and tavistock have. Property is more affordable which is how we ended up there. We left in July though and haven't missed the town once.

wow, thanks all.that's so useful.

yes, state school def as i dont know if i'll get a job!

we must be near totnes, due to sitauation with my mum- and i like the vibe there.

100 applicants per job is v scary! however, i would be prepared to travel to ivybridge, newton abbott, tortquay etc- anywhere within a half hour drive to find work. i'd even do supply/ maternity cover in the short term. i do have 14 yrs expereience and fantastic references... [modest emoticon] so there is hope for me, perhaps.

aubergine, i have to admit that the lovely new dartington eco building is making it v attractive to me.

Yes the Eco buildings look great. I went to Dartington Primary many years ago and loved it but my experience is several decades out of date.

Totnes itself has several primary schools so presumably lots of teaching jobs. Would you consider living in the town itself? As your kids grow it will save you much ferrying about. I remember feeling sorry for the patents in the small villages as their pre-teens and teens' social lives were Totnes focused and so they needed constant lifts.

If you want something more rural but close by i think Dartington/Staverton and Landscove are all good bets.

the thing is, aubergine, we really want a place with a bit of land and to avoid living in town.

its funny, but the majaority of places that we've seen for sale have been south of tones, rather than north/ north east of the town. not sure why but havent seen many advertised in staverton area.

can i ask whether totnes had the lentil vibe when you were growing up, or is that a more recent thing?

Is Totnes commutable to Plymouth or Exeter? It can't be that far. Might be worth consideration for a job.

A close friend teaches at the Staverton prep school, St Christopher's. She drives there from Exeter each day. The school is absolutely idyllic -based in a converted barn, but obviously there are fees to pay.
www.st-christophers.devon.sch.uk/

orm, i would be a 40 minute journey each way, i think. a bit longer than i'd choose unless i get really desperate!

the prep school looks great but class teachers dont get paid enough to send their childen to private school, IME

Noonar - you asked whether Totnes had a "lentil weaver" vibe when I was growing up. The answer is a resounding yes. In fact when I was about 13 I read an article in "Just Seventeen" that listed Totnes as one of the top ten places in the whole world to experience the hippy vibe. However, they published it as "Totnes, Cornwall". I remember penning an indignant letter saying my friends and I had always been under the impression we were growing up in Devon. I won letter of the week and was awarded a free Shakespeare's Sister t-shirt .

I think the alternative vibe in Totnes is much to do with its proximity to Dartington and the Dartington Hall Estate. I don't know how much you know about Dartington but basically in the 1920s a couple called the Elmhirsts bought the Dartington estate in order to conduct an experiment in educational, social and rural theory. They were inspired by the Indian guru Tagore. As part of their experiment they set up Dartington Hall School which is probably the most famous examplar of progressive education where students had a lot of freedom and could make decisions along with the teachers (it sadly closed in the mid-80s although Park School (which I mentioned earlier) and its secondary equivalent Sands School (in Ashburton) remain as progressive educational experiments).

Dartington College of Arts was also established and built an international reputation as a centre for experiment in theatre, music and art. As a result the area attracted a lot of artists and people with an interest in experimentation. I think that is the root of the "lentil weaver" vibe so it can be traced back to the 1920s.

The school is now closed and the college is closing and I think it will be fascinating to see what impact that has on Totnes. At the moment it may be full of lentil weavers but some of them are cutting edge lentil weavers with get up and go and an academic zeal. Will they all leave? And if they do will the vibe go or will it live on but with useless waster lentil weavers who are basically just stoned?

Does the "vibe" bother you? I have lived in Brighton and Totnes and parts of Brighton are just as alternative as Totnes.

(congrats if you have got to the end of this essay!)

Sorry, me again...

Where are you seeing properties that are to the south of Totnes? Just be careful because villages like Dittisham etc look close on the map but the tiny lanes mean it takes ages to get anywhere. Which is fine, but not if your kids are at Dartington Primary. T

(I hope you do not think I am developing an unhealthy obsession with your thread... I am ill in bed and very bored!)

Did anyone here go to Kevics?

Noonar I’ve just found this thread and would love to know where you ended up living and sending your kids to school. We’re looking to move from Brighton to Totnes and definitely want to know more about the Park School- and also good villages just south of Totnes to be (no more than three or so miles) so very similar to your original post here. Not sure you’ll get this 8 years later!!

I have also found this post and am also interested in sending my only child to Park School Dartington so I too am very interested in learning aboit others experiences there.