Good areas to live in Exeter, Devon?

ssh4478

We have been house hunting for last few months in Exeter, Devon. Any suggestions on what areas are good and which ones to avoid. Looking to buy a family home nearby good schools.
Thanks

tiernsee

Husband is from Exeter, parents-in-law live there so asked him. Areas to avoid he reckons Rifford Road, Burnthouse Lane, Newman Road and not knowing what you are looking for the area around Black Boy Road is all student accommodation. Good areas Pennsylvania.....hmmm that was it but when I pushed him he said some of Heavitree is OK. Parents in law live in St Thomas which is OK but really depends what your budget is and what you are looking for. Personally I like Topsham - lovely place but very expensive. No advice on schools I'm afraid - long time since he was at school and we live in the north of the county. Good luck. I like Exeter (though must admit I do prefer North Devon!)

iwannabeonthebeach

would avoid countess weir, burthouse lane as above and most of st thomas.
exwick, pennsylvania, heavitree and alphington all ok. some areas of stoke hill ok.
If you're looking for more on the outskirts then exminster, topsham, broadclyst, shillingford

lovely-cup-of-tea

I was brought up in Burnthouse Lane but that was many years ago and the place isn't the down-to-earth place it once was. I'd recommend Heavitree, Countess Weir or the Sweetbriar Lane area and of course Pennsylvania if you can afford it. There are some nice places around St Thomas too but take a good look at the Ofsted reports and take your info about schools from them.

Madmel

When you say good schools, do you mean primary or secondary? The problem with Exeter is that the good primaries feed into not great secondaries, which is why we moved 10 miles out of the city.

Topsham is nice, but very expensive. Its primary school is well regarded but the pupils move onto Isca which used to be called Priory High School. The "best" high school in the city is St Peter's which takes pupils from all over the city. It is very competitive to get in and as it's a C of E school, you have to submit a reference from a church minister to be in with a chance. Kids from Heavitree end up either at St James [came out of special measures] and St Luke's.

The other problem with Exeter schools is that high schools only go up to year 11; for 6th form study, people go on either to one of the private schools or to Exeter College, which is quite large & impersonal. Outside the city, there are smaller towns & villages with good schools with 6th forms, such as Broadclyst and Ottery St Mary.

Sorry this sounds very negative but I have taught in several of the places I have named above and have applied to only one of these for my children [wouldn't get into St Peter's as we live too far away]. I think that sixth forms are a civilising influence on the younger kids so I wanted that for my own children.

Hope that helps a bit - feel free to PM me.

Shun_di

Having lived in exeter for about 27 years I would have to say that Broadfields/Middlemoor is good area to bring up a family in Exeter.
Living in this area puts you in the catchment area for Walter Daw Primary School
and St Peter's Secondary School. :cool:

andybutkiwi71

hi, just seen this thread, we are living in a 3/4 bed detached house 200m from St PEters in nice small cul de sac with only 5 houses and not overlooked, address 2 EX25PZ, we are looking at selling to move nearer sidmouth area, but very interested in selling ex. agents. Give us call 07739819133 if interested and happy to advise on St Peters and the exeter area generally as well!! thanks Andy Butler

Gem_

At primary level st Leonard's and ladysmith are the best schools but in both cases are so full that not even all of the children living in the catchment will manage to get in. With a couple of obvious exceptions, which you will spot when you read the ofsted reports, the primary schools are pretty good in Exeter. As the poster above mentioned the secondaries, apart from st peters, are not the best.

If you give us some idea of your budget we can recommend areas. St Leonard's is regarded as very very good but is also pretty pricy as a result.

Good luck with your search

Gem

Strapped

I would second the sentiment of living near, rather than in, Exeter if you have kids. (Unless they happen to be on the autistic spectrum, in which case Southbrook is a brilliant school).

ETA: I expect that you've already found this, but just in case not - the catchment areas on a map:

http://gis.devon.gov.uk/basedata/viewer.asp?DCCService=schools

PS Also remember, there is more to schools than Ofsted. I would try to visit anywhere you are considering moving to the catchment area of. And if you are moving when kids are already at secondary school, do check whether there would be a place for them - if the school is popular, there probably won't be.

jvmills

More info on Exeter schools - http://schoolsbase.co.uk/schools/exeter

I'd pay attention to absence rates and pupil numbers - but as said above nothing beats visiting the schools and talking to parents.

Good luck!

Hailstorm

I grew up near Exeter and still have friends and family in the area.

Definitely avoid anything near Burnthouse Lane (the name is a clue). Pensylvania, Topsham and Stoke Hill are nice and worth looking at. Sorry don't know too much about the schools. When I was at secondary school (early to mid 90s) it was common for the schools in nearby towns to have several kids from Exeter.

Another thing I would consider is where you will be working. I have heard that since the Met Office moved to Exeter, trying to get anywhere near Sowton in rush hour can be a real nightmare.