Tell me about moving to Cornwall?

[Seasider6]

My DH’s family is from Cornwall and we spend a lot of our school holidays there. DH is now talking about moving (working from home is now standard in his company) and how good it would be for the kids.

There’s no doubt the kids would love that lifestyle, but I don’t know what it’s really like to live there! although his family is from there, he didn’t grow up there either (they moved around a little and then back when he was growing up).

Did anyone relocate from London to Cornwall?

What is it like for kids? Teens especially? Which areas would you go for? I’m drawn to places like St Ives, but perhaps that’s because they’re lovely to visit?

I don’t know how it’d feel going from London to Cornwall, although we do have a lot of family there. Anyone got any experience with that?

And I’m concerned that as an “outsider”, I’d never properly belong...

Finding this v interesting as someone who moved from London to Cornwall (as born and bred Londoner) twenty years ago and now has 2 DC at secondary school.

May I ask you @Cornishandbored why you find the schools so shocking? Genuine question as I also have friends and family in other areas of the country and having discussed schooling I feel that your judgement on schools here being 30 years behind the times is a little unfair on the teachers and the pupils. My sister is a teacher and also lives and works in Cornwall and has worked at at schools in the home counties and hasn't found things that different. I would also take government tables with a hefty dose of salt. Plenty of kids at my DCs school have done very well. Much depends on the parents I think and yes, there are plenty of people with limited horizons in Cornwall. Maybe because both DP and I aren't from here, we encourage them to dream big and have ambitions beyond the Tamar.

I am not suggesting that Cornwall is perfect, far from it, especially in the winter, but my kids went to a wonderful primary school and had loads of fantastic experiences there. They also have done or currently do the usual range of activities including various dancing groups, football, surfing, tennis, music lessons etc etc so not that different to many other UK kids. They will doubtless move out of Cornwall for Higher education which we will encourage them to do and of course like any teenagers they moan. I grew up in London, and guess what, I moaned too!

Just wanted to add another perspective - there are challenges living here, but they have had freedom in a pretty safe environment with daily trips to the beach after school, plenty of fresh air and access to nature. It might not be for everyone and if you're after shopping malls and endless takeaways then it's probably not the place for you.

Also we have never been made to feel like outsiders where we are but I am sure that does happen in some more 'traditional' areas. I'm not sure we'll stay here forever and there is lots I miss about London life, but also lots I don't!

Good luck whatever you decide OP

Sorry @Cornishandbored, that comment about schools was for @Zhampagne - how are the schools here "streets behind London"?

First thing I’d say OP is do you want to be close to your DH’s family? Because Cornwall is a big place. It takes at least two hours to get from one end to the other.

And Cornwall of course isn’t homogenous so your experience of life in, say, Wadebridge or Truro, would be enormously different to Redruth, Penzance or Bude.

We moved from London to Cornwall almost a decade ago. We have found excellent schools at primary level. Secondaries a bit hit and miss but some good independents in Truro or grammars over the bridge into Plymouth.

Come and spend plenty of time here at all times of year. Research areas, transport, things you like to do etc.

Oh and most teens in our village seem to love life here because they are in the sea all the time. Kayaking. Surfing. Paddle boarding.

I wouldn’t move to a tourist town like St Ives though, as that isn’t real Cornwall.

Not the same locations but we moved from the Midlands to Devon & then back again.

We were worried that job prospects/potential earnings for our DCs would be capped much lower in Devon. Along with the fact DH’s income was also much lower there than here. I’m NHS so it really makes no difference to me. Property prices are also significantly higher there than here (I appreciate this would not be the case for a London relocation).

We still absolutely love Devon & haven’t ruled out moving back at retirement stage. But for lots of reasons it wasn’t the dream place to raise kids for us.

Shocked to read that schools in Cornwall are so far removed from London in performance.

What a travesty if true.

Interested in reading all of the responses to this. I am midlands based, totally land locked and feel completely at home down in Cornwall.
We have threw DCs, 2 at secondary one at primary and have considered moving. I found a good job doing what I do now, DP would hopefully pick something up work wise, but I'm not sure if I'm looking at it a bit rose-tinted because I have such an affinity with the place.

@Tollergirl

It was @Cornishandbored who made the 30 years comment so I'm afraid I can't comment on that.

The issues that I refer to are not unique to Cornwall but recent research has shown a significant disparity for outcomes in rural and coastal schools. In simplest terms, disadvantaged students do much worse if they live in rural or coastal areas than if they live in a city. Disadvantaged students do best of all in London but this gap is still present even if you remove London data from the analysis.

This is the government report: assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/808564/Outcomes_for_pupils_at_the_end_of_KS4_by_geography_-_ad_hoc_statistics.pdf
Also in 2019 was the publication of a longitudinal report from the university of Plymouth which also identified the significant challenges facing rural and coastal schools: www.fenews.co.uk/press-releases/25763-report-warns-of-isolation-for-coastal-and-rural-schools

The general principle is that even when urban schools have high numbers of disadvantaged pupils they have much easier access to funding and support for their work. Rural and coastal schools struggle to recruit and retain staff. They lack a surrounding infrastructure of employers to provide quality work experience and expertise for students. It is much harder to provide quality professional development for staff or to share resources and expertise without an accessible network of partner schools.

Ofsted judgements can be taken with a judicious grain of salt but not performance tables. The progress 8 measure literally tells you how well students do at a given school compared to how they would have done at other schools. It is not perfect but a school with a negative progress 8 score is not a good school.

I have no specific issue with Cornwall. The data is absolutely clear that children do better in urban areas than they do in rural and coastal areas, and they do best of all in London.

Morning @Tollergirl

Yep that was me who said that they hadn’t changed much in 30 years. This is my experience of an Ofsted “outstanding” school in a lovely village.

Exactly same indoor gym equipment,
tatty reading books with pages missing & date stamped 1998,
Girls not allowed to play “boys” sports,
girls given tasks such as cleaning up paint pots during lesson time,
School trips still focus on Truro Museum despite their displays not changing for years,
Cash only for school dinners & charity events (my cousin teaches at a school in Devon where they banned cash and use apps only for payments)
STEM is rarely covered.
Learning disabilities and delays still referred to as “special needs”.
Older teachers clique.
Teaching assistants only for reading & classroom displays - no knowledge of the actual curriculum.
A few of our local schools aren’t interested in exploring other cultures.
The only days they “celebrate” is Children in Need, Comic Relief & St Pirans day. Not even World Book Day
Teachers uncomfortable with zoom calls so none happened throughout lockdown.
Teachers don’t know how to upload home learning work to the schools website!

To be fair they did try Arbour but they didn’t like it

Then you add in poverty, low attendance, behaviour problems, lack of funding

I am friends with lots of teachers and there’s a few in my family - not in Cornwall. It’s all STEM, apps for learning, Arbour, online payments, websites full of downloadable learning, they talk about male and female heroes, explore different cultures AND cuisines in school dinners. They have trips every term, nature walks, trips to farms / beaches / moors, interesting museums.
PE seems to be more inclusive and not just cross country for boys and playing on balance bikes for girls.
After school clubs are more fun too!

There may be some posters who pop on to say their school is fabulous & it probably is. But is it the norm?

Do you remember that dreaded feeling of walking into a school & the school receptionist formally acknowledging you in a stern, cold manner? That’s what happened to me when I viewed every school in my local town for DS! Only one school was happy to see me, had smiling lovely teachers and giggly children - and that school was rated “requires improvement”...

Whereas where we are moving to in 2021 - most schools are the above with a nice Ofsted rating. Lots of giggles and lots of happy teachers. And the coolest after school clubs! (Science club, kids orchestra and multi choice sports clubs)

Just my opinion based on my town & village nearby. I worked at one school, viewed 5 & have friends moving away from another 3.

We have lots of academies here so maybe that’s the issue? I’m not sure.

hope I didn’t offend anyone x

What you describe is very Cornish and it’s what some people love about it! Behind the times! They like it to be old fashioned and retro. That includes schools. It’s not an education that is geared to leaving Cornwall. It’s the good enough for Cornwall model.

Exeter university has a campus in Cornwall that offers the same subjects as the one in Exeter but requires lower grades. The cynical in me is to get the local dc. But why there isn’t the impetus to expect more is beyond me other than people like bumbling along with a quiet life. Nearly everyone I’ve met that moved from elsewhere has wanted that. To go back to a quiet life at a slower pace. So that’s what you get.

With pp money and pupil weighting, there isn’t much extra money for any schools outside of these payments. However with a poor local economy, CornwallCouncil isn’t rich so spending is low on all sorts of things. The older people (and others) don’t want holidaymakers so 1/3 of the economy is under threat. So it won’t get better any time soon.

Academies are either converters who have opted to leave Cornwall council control of have been forced to be academies due to being failing schools. Academies don’t necessarily tell you anything but the former are usually better then the latter!

@My0My Oh my goodness that makes so much sense about what you said about University of Exeter in Cornwall!

Would you say it’s the same for University of Plymouth? I started a University of Plymouth degree at a College campus in Cornwall and it was laughable.

I then moved to University of Exeter (In Exeter!). It was absolutely amazing! The difference in the same subject and classmates was absolutely astonishing.

Just FYI that is NOT my experience of my DS primary school. For balance.
Nor is what My0My is saying. If you think that 'Cornwall' is one experience, one people who all think the same then you’re gonna get their backs up.

Living in cornwall is wonderful for me and my family but we’ve only ever lived here (aside uni, travelling etc). I haven’t grown up with easy access to public transport, a variety of restaurants, theatres, love music etc etc. If that’s something that’s important to you then Cornwall really does feel quite far flung!

On the flip side, a trip to somewhere for an experience is a mini holiday, it’s fun, I don’t take it for granted!

I always hear that teenagers can’t survive in Cornwall but my peers and I all did. Sure, sometimes it was boring but isn’t that the curse of being a teenager world wide? I still did sports via school, still had friends.

In your particular case OP perhaps moving to the outskirts of Bristol or Exeter first and see how you get on?
London to Cornwall is quite a difference!

You didn't offend me @Cornishandbored but you are perpetuating the idea for people that don't live here that everything is backward whereas in reality that is not the case. My job involved visiting many schools in a professional capacity working with children with additional needs and, I don't recognise much of what you are describing.

Certainly don't recognise anything you describe regarding my DC primary school and in case OP is interested their experience included:
Girls and boys involved in all sports including football, rugby and surfing
School trips to Maritime museum, Eden, Minack, farms, beaches regularly
School trips to London including educational day at Houses of Parliament (something I never did as a child living in London)
Forest school in EYFS
Yearly camps in different areas of Cornwall which included climbing, kayaking and supping
Yr6 camp to Isles of Scilly for a week (all the parents volunteered to go on these!)
Payments at school via Parent pay
After school clubs including Science club, tennis, computer club, football, yoga, dance
Active PTA with yearly mini "festival" in the summer where they explored different cultures
Excellent teaching staff and v good Sats results to boot

Both now at secondary and have had lessons via Teams and loads of online work
Have also had cards and phone calls from teachers congratulating them on achievements.

I am not trying to boast or suggest that your experience is not valid but when others are asking what school life in Cornwall is like your post suggests that every school is 30 years behind the times which is clearly untrue. I suspect much depends on the Head teacher and we were and are lucky in that regard.

@Zhampagne - I am well aware of the disparity between coastal and rural areas in terms of educational attainment but again there is more nuance than statistics would have you believe. Schools play an important role here and no doubt Cornish schools have as much difficulty as any others with staff retention. My DC school has had recent much overdue investment but that's down to the government's lack of giving a sh*t. However the majority of staff are caring and really want the best for the kids. There are a variety of after school clubs including STEM and sports. They have had trips to Paris, Amsterdam and Italy for skiing.

There is a lack of opportunities in the surrounding area when it comes to work experience etc but they can be overcome with some creative thinking. Parental support is even more crucial and yes, it is true that many parents here have lacked opportunities themselves so are unable to support their kids in achieving at a higher level, or are happy to stay within their own environment. This is also true of many other places though.

I will get off my high horse now but do feel that writing off a county as behind the times and a educational wasteland is harsh and patently untrue. FWIW I went to a high achieving selective London school and was a miserable teenager. Not everything in life is about being the top, the best, the cleverest. What about being safe (low crime rate down here), having access to the great outdoors and fresh air. I appreciate you can't live on fresh air and there is a lot of inequality but on MN it seems success equates to getting 12 A, 4A, 1st class degree (only at the "right" universities though), top job in the city, etc etc.
Having achieved some of these myself and worked with people who have achieved all of the above I would say they are no happier than my neighbour who has barely left Cornwall. I realise these are extremes but you catch my drift!

@Tollergirl Wow that sounds amazing! And more of what I expected when we moved back.

Good to have some balance in our posts.

I've been living here for the past 6 years. I've yet. Still to make any friends. If you want a quiet life Cornwall is the place for you. I do think there's a lot of people who maybe loved out for a few years and then cambe back, it's what they're used to and that's fair enough.

I think for people like me (who came from.big cities, are minorities, etc..) Cornwall seems
pretty but fairly alien.

I unfortunately can't move away because of DC but living here made me so deprey I had to go on therapy. At some point I refused leaving the house because of how much I hated being reminded I live here. In London I'd make closer to £75k here I'm on MW. I don't like the beach, I like going to gigs, museums and shopping. Cornwall is the opposite of what I want in life. Unfortunately I'm stuck in here for the next 8 years or so.

It's lovely if it's what you're looking for but you have to be sure it is or have a plan B. It's very different to come for a few days than to come and love here.

Thanks- we have been v lucky in having access to such a great school - they do exist in Cornwall- it's a real shame that they aren't all like that - my DC have great memories of primary and were so lucky to do all these. Really feel for those who have missed out due to lockdown.

Hope you're enjoying the weather- it's pretty packed at our local beaches so we tend to avoid until early evening although I took DD to meet her friends during the day and was absolutely heaving!

@cornishandbored that isn't my experience in school at all even when I went 20 years ago.

World book Day is also thing in my area

Yes a lot of people moved away for uni etc but a lot of them are now moving back here

I think you can get all the benefits of the West Country without going so far round the corner that it's impossible to access civilisation.

Maybe look at villages down the Jurassic Coast instead? Beach lifestyle, closer to visit your Cornish relatives, but also easy to get into Bournemouth, Poole and Southampton.

I'd stay in London and keep visiting Cornwall during holidays. You are already giving your children the perfect beachy summer and sometimes the novelty of beaches and nature wears off when it's all you can do in the local area if there isn't much else for young people.

I agree with this.

@Fressia123 - so sorry to hear that you're finding it such a struggle here. Don't get me wrong I have my moments too, especially in the endless wet winter. I also have a disability which can make enjoying the outdoors challenging. I generally take the rough with the smooth, probably because I'm middle aged... Are you able to leave occasionally- we do (or did) regular breaks to London and other cities for a change and to give the DC some experience of city life. We also did a yearly festival and hope that will happen again next year.

It must be v disheartening having to work for such a reduced income- both myself and DP are NHS so there was only small difference in income between here and London.

I don't have that many friends down here but as I said I'm probably much older than you so am quite happy with a quiet life. Are you sporty? - seems like a lot of socialising here happens around clubs. Probably not the best place for you if you don't like the beach though!

Hope you manage to find something to make it more bearable and wishing you well

@reefedsail - some of us down here are quite "civilised" you know! We have indoor plumbing and everything!!!

You've criticised me for points I didn't make, @Tollergirl. I categorically did not dismiss an entire county. I was careful to clarify that the disparities I discuss are not unique to Cornwall and are a problem in rural, isolated and coastal areas nationally. I don't think it is a controversial statement that a move from London to Cornwall, between probably the most extreme examples of urban and rural living in the country, is likely to be a bit of a shock and lots of pp have echoed this.

It sounds like your family have a great quality of life and it is impossible to put a price on this. However, please consider the level of privilege that is necessary to be able to dismiss the importance of academic achievement. Your children will no doubt do very well because one of the greatest factors determining this is their mother's education. Deprived families do not have the luxury of dismissing the importance of good grades. They do not have anybody in their life who is able to think creatively to overcome the issue of work experience or life opportunities. Education is the only tool we have that is known to be effective in aiding social mobility and getting young people out of poverty.

We only leave about once a year, but do try to go to a Exeter as often as possible. In sporty (I let my DH at running club! ) But working FT and having a baby means I don't have a lot of spare time.

I've always thought that if we either had more of a disposable income or I had more of a social life, my quality of life would improve but no joy so far! Thanks for your well wishing. Therapy (and moving to Truro) have helped immensely.

@Tollergirl, I didn't mean to offend. I live in rural Dorset and love the West Country, so I do say it with some affection.

However, there just isn't the same wealth of things to do and innovation and cultural diversity as there is in big cities- you can't possibly argue that there is. It's a different kettle of fish if you are 90 minutes from city life compared to being 4 hours away.

Don’t underestimate the paucity of public transport. Trains get you to the big towns but not much further (limited service on branch line eg to Newquay). Buses are infrequent and take a long time, I have happy memories of trying to get from Padstow to Truro and being told the next bus was in 6 days time. Moving up to London from Devon as a 20-something it was a revelation that you could get from A to B so quickly and that more than one bus would come along within the same hour. Why does it matter? Because without a car the West Country is difficult to get around on a day-to-day basis. For teens, that means Parent Taxi everywhere, including the beaches and the surf lifestyle, and that’s frustrating for teen and parent alike. There’s no level of independence until you can drive.

I love the West Country, it’s where I and my DH grew up and I will always view it as home. It’s beautiful and full of its own culture and society and way of life. Now I’d like to go back, but for the sake of my DCs I try to remember why I left: it’s quiet, nothing much happens, everybody knows your business, job prospects and services are not great and as a teenager it’s pretty limiting. Totally accept that people do survive growing up there - I did - and it’s certainly not the complete cultural dead end it was when I grew up, but best to go into that with your eyes open as to how feasible that idyllic lifestyle actually is as you get older.