Colyton Grammar - where to live

[HalfPastSeven]

We currently live in London, and are thinking about a move out in a few years (should not need to be in commuter distance). Have a vague plan that DS would sit for Colyton Grammar and we would relocate down that way if he gets in (which I appreciate is a big if). I know the area a bit (which is why the school caught my interest - in-laws live in Dorest not too far from that bit of Devon).
But indulge me here, if you could live anywhere you wanted in that general area, where would you choose (trying to get a feel for house prices etc).
Would want somewhere that is an easy journey for DS (eg school bus route) and where there are lots of families and activities (the area of Dorset my in-laws live in has a bit of a retirement area feel). Would love to be near the sea, but realistically being used to the convenience of London would probably struggle with somewhere too remote.

Sorry no helpful info re the school but isn't that a heck of a lot of stress to put your child under "we'll move IF you get into the school".....

Just a thought

Have you seen the thread 'IS it impossible to get into Colyton?' here on MN?...

Bridport ? (but echo above comments).

I appreciate the comment about pressure, but is it not even more pressure to move to the area before ds sits in the hope that he will get in? Current thinking is that he will sit for various schools at 11 plus, some grammar some private. We will also look at good comps. We want to relocate out of London around that time anyway and the thinking is that we can narrow down areas to relocate to by focussing on particular schools that we like the sound of. in my mind, colyton is a front runner because it is near inlaws and we like what we know about the area. However, we are aware it is not the easiest school to get into, so will not communicate preference to ds. It is a few years away anyway, but we want to be well researched.

HEnce is is very much a cloud cuckoo land question of where would be a good place to live if this pie in the sky thought came off.

Also, if we stayed in London ds would probably go to UCS - he is going there in sept having got in at 7 plus. Out of interest, is it really harder to get in to colyton than the likes of UCS or highgate?

I appreciate we would be the type of colyton applicant that locals hate in that we would be applying from out of catchment from a private school, but we would have a genuine intention to relocate there. I am hoping that nevertheless locals would be willing to share thoughts on good places to live. Want to be as sure as possible that it is n area we would be happy in.

Mind you, I suspect we will be asking similar questions about other areas as and when we identify other schools we like the look of! It is also entirely possible that as we do our research on schools we might find an area that we fall in love with and want to live in irrespective of whether ds gets into the school we have been focussing on, in which case we will probably research catchments for best state comp in the area, and find somewhere to live squarely within catchment.

Is this really a bad approach? DH and I have a business idea but need a few years to save up some capital and develop business plans If we go ahead we should have freedom as to where we live. Seemed to s that a good time to do this would be when ds is 11 as it is a natural time to move schools anyway.

PS Thanks ragwort, will take a look at bridport.

In my day (although that was a fair time ago...) buses ran from Axminster, Sidmouth and Honiton, and a few pupils came in from Upottery I think. In terms of towns nearby I really like Lyme, and Axminster has good/bad areas, Sidmouth much the same and definitely more buzzy in the summer with the folk festival.

HTH

So you want to move to an area knowing that the locals won't be keen on your reasons for moving? Do you have quite thick skins? Do you want to annoy people even before you start?

Colyton is not impossible but there are many very bright children who are straight A students who don't get in, due to the pressure on places, and they come from a very wide catchment.

If I could live anywhere, house price wasn't an issue and proximity to decent transport wasn't an issue, I'd live in Lyme Regis, or just outside. Or maybe Beer. Sidmouth is also very nice.

As to whether it is harder to get into Colyton than private schools in London - I don't know. All I know is it's very competitive. Also, neither Highgate or UCS feature in the BBC top 200 schools at A level table which might be an indication of the relative strengths of the schools.

As Fennel says - the catchment area is huge. The school often quotes 50 Sq mile radius but some people come from further I think.

Sidmouth is a good place to live if your son is sporty, good rugby and cricket clubs and a swimming pool.
There is no catchment to Colyton Grammar it is a super selective school - you could live on the moon as long as you could get your child to school on time that is.

oakman is right that Sidmouth fits a lot of your criteria, but you would still have to pay bus fares to school which can be expensive. From next term there is only a tiny area which qualifies for free transport to school.

Maybe you should bear in mind also that the Headteacher has just made a public statement to the effect that he would like to introduce contextual data into the 11+ exam for Colyton for the purpose of countering the effect of tutoring and leading the way in restoring grammars to their original function as a catalyst for social mobility.

This might disadvantage rich downshifters from London (or anywhere. Nothing personal).

If you move towards the Poole area then there are grammar schools for boys and girls. Sherborne has Gryphon school which has an excellent reputation. Bruton has Sexys co ed, boarding but still a grammar school. Thomas Hardye in Dorchester has also got an excellent reputation but is very big and full.