Advice re secondary schools in Devon please

[JudetheObscure44]

Hi, I'm new to Mumsnet so hope I'm posting this question correctly. We are moving to Devon from London due to my husband being made redundant and hoping that this will end up being the best thing that happened to us - we love Devon. We have 2 girls in grammar at the moment (1 going in to sixth form in Sep and 1 going in to year 9). Do you think we have any chance with a Devon grammar for both or either of them? Thanks so much for any advice or help you can give, life is pretty challenging right now.

Which part of Devon? You may be better off posting in the relevant local section.

Colyton Grammar has v good reputation, but is v competitive I believe.

Thank you for replies. We're not tied to an area so I just looked at the grammars and saw Colyton looked impossible to get into so I wondered if Churston Ferrers in Brixham is any more likely? I don't know if there are any others, still researching and grateful for any pearls.

Jude - I'd try Torquay. AIUI they do accept pupils in years other than Y7. Colyton doesn't accept kids in Y12 and Y9 would be difficult also as that is when they begin KS4. You might also want to explore bursaries at the private schools in Exeter. If your girls are high performers academically, and given your change in circumstances, you might be eligible.

Jude - the other possibility for your older girl is Exeter college which has a special scheme - the reach academy - for very high achievers. It gets great results. And there's a special maths bit too... If she is into Maths...

Further down the county, Plymouth has two girls' grammar schools, Devonport High and Plymouth High. Not sure what their admissions protocols are but Plymouth is much cheaper than most of Devon for housing.