KEVICCs or other Devon schools

[Flopsygrowsup]

We are moving to Devon in next 6-12 months and are looking where to live -ds is in yr 5 at mo so looking at secondary school. KEVICCS looked good until I found the stuff about the row around uniform and parental/pupil behaviour plus OFSTED only satisfactory -anyone know much would other schools lobe better

IN that area of Devon ( its a BIG county) You could look at South Dartmoor ( big on sport) Ivybridge ( very big on sport), Newton Abbott ( mixed reviews & working out which campus your child would be based at is tricky) or the Various Torbay schools. Torbay has grammar schools, lots of people tutor to get a grammar place.

As the county is large , secondary schools are large with enormous catchment areas once you get away from the 3 major urban centres. So its worth looking at travel to school times. If you live in a designated area there should be a school bus, go out of area and there may not be a bus.

www.devon.gov.uk/schoolareamaps has links to the maps and info on travel and admissions.

Personally , I would chose NOT to live in Totnes, its not that nice a town and house prices are quite high.

Thanks UniS -where would you recommend to live?

Should say would need to be South

I think the row over the introduction of school uniform was mainly exacerbated by silly parents more than the children IMO. I wasn't for the introduction of uniform as the kids always looked very smartly and appropriately dressed before. There's a hint of britney spears having been dragged through a hedge backwards now. Some twatty anti uniform parents tried to influence a decision after they realised they'd forgotten to get involved at the consultation stage.

Keviccs is our nearest school too and eldest in year 4. We will also be looking into Ivybridge Community College which has a good reputation and Ashburton which has an excellent reputation. Torquay Grammar school has a good reputation too.

The word on the ground is that Ivybridge are planning a school bus from Totnes in the next year or so which would make it a viable option.

I love Totnes, and think it's a great town. But appreciate it won't appeal to everybody. I wouldn't live anywhere else now, but have lived in brixton, yealmpton and ivybridge if you want info on those places.

Ivybridge has a good reputation among teachers round here. And South Dartmoor is lovely - caters for an enormous catchment area and all socioeconomic groups.

Kingsbridge has a good reputation too. Some cutting-edge teaching, I've heard.

If your looking south Devon area I agree with south dartmoor in ashburton being a good choice, Newton abbot area has 3 secondary schools which collaborate and each has their individual strengths.

Torbay has 2/3 grammar schools that serve the local area and children commute upto 20+ miles to attend these. Selection for the grammars has distance from school built into the process so boarder line applicants nearer the schools come first, which could have a knock on effect on the level of ability of the closest non selective schools. Something to consider regarding moving to Torbay.

I live north of the moor... so I only know the schools to the south through working in them occasionally. I like Ivybridge, but accept that is huge size won't suit every one.

All the rural ( and semi rural) secondarys in devon are OK, they have to be as most kids can't go to any other than their designated area school. The illusion of parental choice really is just an illusion if you live in a village with one school bus.

Personally I'd consider living in Bovey Tracey or Chudleigh , if I had to live on the A38 corridor and commute to Exeter or Torbay. If I had to get to Plymough I'd look at South Brent area over Ivybridge. The south Hams are very nice, but difficult to get to any where else from, and full of tourists and grok boxes ( caravans) in summer.

I like living nearer the north coast , the surf is better:-) and the moors are wild and wonderful.

Thanks all would love to hear your views about places to live - most likely to need to be accessible for A38

Totnes is great, has character and plenty going on for families and even good evenings out. Easy access to A38 for Plymouth and Exeter, but also easy to access Torbay/Newton Abbott. Traffic is grim if you need to travel through Totnes during rush hours. Also has train station. Property is pricey though and rents can be extortionate and some areas less nice.

Ivybridge is nice, cheaper and good for families but lacks character and stuff to do. Can be a bit lacking in life. The pool is good though, and the high school. Good for families with young children. Weather can be a bit damp at the best of times. Very easy access to A38 and big tescos.

Brixton & Yealmpton are lovely towns but I found them a claustrophobic. Difficult to leave without a car but some lovely country walks. Easy access to plymouth. Primary schools seem good. Can be a little bit yummy mummy with everybody fabulously successful at a young age. Weather significantly better this side of the moor. Primary schools feed into ivybridge community college. Reasonable access to A38 for exeter, but better to use other roads to plymouth.

South Brent has a lovely montessori nursery but not much else imo. Easy access to A38.

Ashburton seems really nice, but prices could be comparable to Totnes I think. And has a great secondary school.

Ooh you lucky thing, Flopsy - I am desperate to move to Devon. .

Omg heard to day may be all be bought forward and have interview in 4 weeks...

I work with a lot if Devon schools and, as above, would definitely advocate Ivybridge and South Dartmoor, Kingsbridge and Teign. I probably like Kingsbridge best but it's further from the A38 and more out of the way. Avoid Exeter &

Sorry! Stupid phone. and Plymouth I was going to add, and if your son is academic Torquay Boys Grammar is fantastic.

ooh, that's exciting. good luck!

Soooooo want the job ...... Feel a bit sick :-) worrying about moving DS and leaving his friends I know he'll be ok but...

we moved back to the area after a couple of years up north (far north). kids went into year 2 and reception.
can honestly say it's the best decision we've made as a family.

TheUnstoppablewindmill, DS is bright but has mild dyspraxia which he needs some support ( mainly teachers understanding impact and that he is bright but handwriting is not a measure of IQ grrrrrrr teacher today)
Do you have a view which might be better?

I GOT THE JOB WE'RE ON OUR way. Woo hoo.... Will be based in Exeter but need to get to Plymouth too. All advice gratefully received

Have PM-d you

Hi -

We 'escaped' from London 35 years ago to Devon.

If you are in Exeter area it won't affect you, but I was going to say there is a lot of 'development' expected in the Torbay, Newton Abbot, Teignbridge areas in the future. Also the Torbay Link Road is under construction from Newton Abbot to Torquay, which had been under discussion for 50 years, but funding has finally arrived.

There are many secondary schools in an around Exeter itself, though I don't know any of them personally.