Relocating to Cornwall and need advice on secondary schools and college

[SamMoss]

We are planning to move to Cornwall next year as my husband may be working around Truro and Redruth. I’m looking for nice areas to live with 20-30 miles of these areas. I have two children aged 10 and 15 and a Beagle dog who loves nice walks. My main concerns are getting a good secondary school for my daughter and a good college which excels in a level maths and physics which is what my son wants to study. I would like an area with a good community spirit and not too rural. I need a local shop and a pub that allows dogs as a minimum. Any tips and advice would be fantastic. Many thanks in advance x

The secondary schools tend to cover wide areas as Cornwall is so spread out. Truro college is ofstead outstanding. There are loads of villages within 20-30 miles of Redruth and Truro. The house prices vary hugely depending on where the house is, costal and close to Truro is more expensive... Have you visited anywhere in the area that you like to narrow it down a bit?

It depends what your budget is. St Agnes is a great coastal town. Devoran is brilliant but has no shop (although carnon downs has one).

I'd avoid anywhere around the north coast otherwise. Tresillian is nice as is probus but are on the other side of Truro to commute to Redruth

Richard lander is a good secondary and Truro has an excellent reputation

20-30 miles of Truro and Redruth covers most of central Cornwall. Do you want to live in a town or a village? What's your budget? Will you be working as well?

The Roseland area is gorgeous, within 20 miles of Truro and has the Roseland Academy, rated outstanding by Ofsted.
Somewhere like St Mawes might fit your description of where you'd like to live.

Thanks everyone so far. Every year we holiday in Cornwall and this is mainly on the west cost. Although I haven’t really been to the east coast I am happy to live any area as I know it isn’t far to travel all of Cornwall. When we move I plan to take care of my daughter through year 6 of school (possibly find work during school hours) and then go back to work for more hours once she has settled into secondary school. We will be moving away from friends and family so I need to put the kids first as I will have no support or help with the kids. I would be looking at buying a house for £300-£320k or less and don’t mind village or town. I am very sociable so would love to get involved in the local area where I more to. We have considered renting but we just want to buy a forever home and start the most exciting times of our lives. I’m just nervous about the schools and living in the best areas. We ha e been trying to move for the last 10 years but job opportunities for my husband has been hard to find so fingers crossed this time. Massive thanks everyone for taking time to reply to my message. Means a lot xx

Forgot to say - we holiday in Portscatho, near St Mawes every summer. Friends who live there have a daughter who went to Exeter Maths school for A levels. Could be a thought for your son? (It's boarding).

It’s so tricky as there’s just so many options. You’ll get more house for your money if you move away from the coast. There’s some lovely villages around falmouth, such as stithians, Perranwell station, Devoran which have varying prices. Benefit of Perranwell is that it’s on the train route (as buses are atrocious) so your DD will be able to get to places when she wants more independence. Stithians has a great community and is closer to Redruth. Most villages have book groups, craft circles etc you just have to find the people who are in them!
The north coast is amazing for an outdoor lifestyle, st Agnes is lovely but pricey, porthtowan has a good beach but the village is a bit away from what feels like the centre. Portreath isn’t as pretty and is therefore cheaper and it has a certain smell, but the community is nice.
I’d be wary of thinking that everything is close in Cornwall the traffic in summer is horrendous and the small roads can really clog up to popular tourist places.
What’s your DHs job? There are some good Facebook groups you could join to meet people in a similar situation...

This is great advice from everyone. Thank you so much. I’m be searching tonight instead of Christmas wrapping! My husband is currently Head of IT and infrastructure for the NHS and I’ve also always worked for the NHS. If this current job opportunity doesn’t come through he would consider contracting. It has always been our dream to move even if we buy a pub or b&b and do something totally different, one day we will make dreams come true. I keep playing the lottery but that’s not worked yet! Hope you all have a fabulous Christmas xx

Where are you moving from? It might be a shock for the children if they have not lived rurally and then they are in a village with no transport.

My brother is in Truro, I think there was a choice of 2 secondary schools and only one college (state) his kids are all doing well, the youngest is still at uni doing medicine the others have careers.

One thing is that the children have had to move for work.

As you have a 15 year old I'd suggest looking at a town just so that there is more for your 15 year old to do and you don't end up spending half your life ferrying children to friends/clubs/outings.

Thanks sashh. The two children have always wanted to move to Cornwall. We normally spend 3 holidays per year there and they love it. We are very much an outdoor family and love the beach and surfing. I have tried to talk them out of it and if there were any doubts at all we wouldn’t do it. To be honest it’s the kids that started us to seriously consider it and make plans and they would live in caravans! If life was just that simple hey x

With your budget you will get a decent house in Truro and Falmouth/Penryn, both tick your boxes. If surfing is really important then you're better off on the North coast, Portreath or Porthtowan. St Agnes is lovely but pricey, second-homey and the surf can be dangerous for novices.

Constantine, Stithians, Ponsanooth, Mylor are all lovely too but limiting for a teenager - public transport is dire. Also might make it difficult for you to get a job later on.

Perranwell is one the Falmouth-Truro train line and will give your kids more independence.

Truro has good schools. Penryn College is excellent. Falmouth School is having a hiccup at the moment but will probably be fine.

Truro College is good, and huge (for Cornwall)

Thanks for this. There is lots to digest so thanks for taking the time to reply to me. Have a wonderful Christmas x

Hi SamMoss, wondered how you got on as we're now making the same move and choices.... Wanted to ask which areas finally came up tops and which schools you settled on for secondary. Many thanks :)

Hi .. I know this is an old thread but I just wondered what area and secondary schools you guys decided on? I am also in the same boat!

I live here and at least the Penryn one leaves a lot to be desired (and the Falmouth one is absolute crap). Richard Lander in Truro is the best option.

Thanks Onlyrainbows..can I ask do your kids go to any of these schools? The secondary school situation feels a bit dire unfortunately and I was under the impression Penryn and Falmouth were decent! Although I have been reliably informed that Penryn is massively oversubscribed.

Hi @Blueravendope
I have kids at Falmouth School. Lots of their primary friends also went to Penryn.
Falmouth is in a fairly turbulent period of change after a bad Ofsted inspection and the removal of the (very unpopular) old regime a couple of years ago. The new head has been in post for a year. At the moment, I'd say it's too early to tell if she's going to really improve things. She's very nice, and I think she really wants to do well by the school and the kids, and I hope she makes a success of it. A lot of the problems the school is having at the moment - recruitment and retention, especially - are part of the bigger national picture. Staff are largely great - I've always found them helpful and responsive, and you get the sense they really care about the kids. I wouldn't give it a glowing recommendation, but I think a lot of the negatives you hear about it are outdated.
Locally, Penryn is definitely widely held to be the better option. But is also in a period of change as the fairly longstanding head is leaving this year and they've appointed an interim. Of the people I know with kids there, there's one who moved his kids from Falmouth to Penryn and is evangelical about how great it is. Most I'd say are moderately happy, and a couple have removed their kids because of bullying. It's definitely more oversubscribed than Falmouth, but everyone I know who wanted to send their kids there got a place and there's always a fair amount of turnover in secondaries.

Thank you @cornishschools .. I appreciate your message! It is great to hear about schools from different perspectives. We are hoping to move soon if all goes well so it is good to have a little inside info! I know all children will have a different experience in school, especially high school but nevertheless the overall consensus feels relevant. Thanks again

Glad it was helpful. Good luck with the move!