Living in Malpas

[Sunset54]

Hello.
We're planning to move and have seen some beautiful houses in Malpas. We have two children and one is finishing year 4 so we're hoping to get her in to a good state secondary school.
Can anyone advise whether Malpas and Bishops Heber are a good option? What's it like to live there? Our children both take dance lessons and swim - are there options in Malpas or is too small?

Great school - let’s just say I know it very well 😁

Lovely village. Nice pubs. Busy cricket club.

Other than hotels, the nearest public pool is Chester. Dance school in nearby Whitchurch. No holiday clubs nearby during school holidays really.

Malpas is great, schools are both very good. Whitchurch is having a new swimming pool built which is due to complete in 2025. Other options for swimming pools are Nantwich, (lovely town) Wem, Wrexham,

@Ifonlyoneday @mnahmnah thanks for your responses and apologies for the delay coming back to you (our house is going on the market imminently and the amount of faffing to stage the house for photos has been unreal!).

Can you tell me what the local primary schools are like in Malpas? I noticed one had an Ofsted of “Requires Improvement”. Do either of you have experience with them?

There’s only one primary school in Malpas and it’s pretty good as far as I am aware. Tilston primary is a great school. All the village schools round there are good. I wouldn’t recommend Whitchurch infants or juniors.

edited since looking at the Rightmove ofsted remarks - I’m surprise the Alport in Malpas got requires improvement. I have heard it has gone downhill a little but the only way is up. It has always been known for being a good school

I live in Shropshire and some friends have sent their children to Tushingham or Bickerton, both of which they have rated highly.

@mnahmnah @Ifonlyoneday Hi both, so we’ve viewed a couple of houses in Malpas and yesterday we went in to the village for a look around.

The Lion seemed lovely (although no families really, mostly just men in there), and the village is very pretty. It could have been the time that we visited (4pm on a Saturday) but it was VERY quiet. I’d read that it was a bustling village but there wasn’t really anyone around and pretty much everything was closed. Is that typical or just the time we were there?

Do you know if there are many events in the village (summer fete, Christmas activities at the church)?

Also, are there shops beyond the area by the monument or a park? We could only stop for an hour so we didn’t have time to venture much further than the high street and I can’t find much useful information online. Thanks!

It is definitely busier at other times. The high street is it for shops and they will have been open on Saturday, so like you say, it was probably the time.

The cricket club puts events on through the year. A fun day in the summer. I think there is usually a Christmas fair at jubilee hall and the school does a carol concert at the church. I know the lion is popular with families too.

Have you looked at Farndon and Tattenhall? Both popular and lovely villages.

My niece has just started year 7 at bishops heber. She said the teachers are quite strict but there are loads of extra curricular options which she loves. So far she’s really happy there

Thank you! I was reading posts on the village FB group and there were a number that mentioned anti social behaviour in the park and severe bullying at the high school. I suppose you get elements of this everywhere - are these just isolated incidents do you think?

I would say there is bullying everywhere. There is less low level behaviour in BH than at SJT in Whitchurch. Lots of pupils are bussed in from the outlying villages.

A friend of mine has just done the secondary school open evenings in Wem, Whitchurch and Malpas and was really impressed with Malpas.

Lots of villages with good primary schools as a PP said.

Not many shops at all in Malpas. Enough to get by if you've forgotten something for dinner though. The Old Fire Station is good for breakfast!

Fox Dance Academy is based at Malpas and Nantwich. They dance at the Jubilee Hall and the church at the top of the high street.

Swimming is a little trickier. Whitchurch pool is being rebuilt so lessons are at Market Drayton. Private lessons are available at Penley - Dan Turner Swim School. Not sure if private lessons are still running at the pool at Hill Valley in Whitchurch.

Edited to add that Malpas has a carnival!

I would avoid believing a minority of parents on a local Facebook group! They simple to whip themselves into a frenzy about things that are neither accurate or a wider issue.

The ofsted report includes responses from parent surveys and no issues were raised there about bullying.

I know they are happy to do parent tours if you want to look for yourself

@Bumpinthenight that’s good to know and many thanks for the link and information.

A big reason for our move is to access a better secondary school as the options near us are dismal. It’s an expensive move and a lot of upheaval so we just want to make sure it’s worth it (we’re also selling our dream home for this so it’s a scary move!).

Bishop Heber appears to be the best performing school in the Chester/Tarporley/Malpas areas and I’ve heard they’re strict but a good school. I’m hoping this is the right decision!

@mnahmnah thanks, yeah I had wondered how serious it was or if it was just a couple of disgruntled parents. I know there was a lot of unhappiness about coats and socks at one point which may not have helped.

@mnahmnah do you know if Oathills a nice area of Malpas? We’ve seen some houses in the centre and Oathills which seems quiet.

It’s a nice area of housing next to the school. Any part of Malpas is nice! But it is a little walk to the village centre, so quieter

@mnahmnah thank you! Do you know if there’s access to nice walks from there? We live quite rurally at the moment so we aren’t used to having so many houses around us. We saw on the map that it’s surrounded by countryside though. Is it the sort of place where people go for walks?