| Re: Education gap - South West England Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 22:42, 6th August 2026 |     |
I was born in Devonport (Alexandra Maternity Home - good luck finding that one these days!
) and grew up in Plymstock, a suburb of Plymouth.There, I attended Plymstock School, then a 'Comprehensive', but which was still run along the lines of it having been, I seem to remember, a Grammar School. There were some 2,000 pupils at that time.
I have many fond memories of that school, and don't recall any impression that I was being offered an 'inferior' education. Indeed, I still recall my geography teacher, Keith Stoyle, who inspired me with my continuing love of Ordnance Survey maps, and Mr Rogerson, who inspired me with my love of woodwork - just for example.
Chris from Plymstock.
| Re: Education gap - South West England Posted by REVUpminster at 17:59, 6th August 2026 | |
I can only speak for girls/women I know. My next doors neighbours two girls, both in their mid twenties now, went to Churston Grammar mixed school which is about a mile from where I am. One went to Cambridge to study medicine and worked and trained at Addenbrooks and is now a doctor at Weston Super-mare Hospital. The other girl went to Bristol and is an engineer. I know another women in her mid twenties went to Cambridge and is working in a care home which she has reservations about but has been there over 18 months.
Torbay has two grammar schools, separate boys and girls, that are really sort after with pupils commuting to them by train to Torre. Up to 200 get off the 0820 arrival.
There is also a combined CofE/Roman Catholic secondary school.
Those four schools are real assets to Torbay.
Some of the primary schools have 600/700 pupils which was unheard of in my day.
| Re: Education gap - South West England Posted by TaplowGreen at 17:25, 6th August 2026 | |
From The BBC
This year, millions of holidaymakers will head to Cornwall and Devon for their sandy beaches and pretty coastal towns - just two reasons why the South West peninsula is England's top tourist destination.
Yet behind its wild coastal beauty and affluent towns lies a different story: one of lost opportunities and the unfulfilled potential of many growing up in the region.
On almost every measure, the region is among the weakest educationally, according to the South West Social Mobility Commission, a coalition of organisations trying to bring about change.
Disparities in GCSE results are often framed through the lens of a North-South divide, but that narrative can obscure the challenges facing children in coastal and rural parts of England.
Yet behind its wild coastal beauty and affluent towns lies a different story: one of lost opportunities and the unfulfilled potential of many growing up in the region.
On almost every measure, the region is among the weakest educationally, according to the South West Social Mobility Commission, a coalition of organisations trying to bring about change.
Disparities in GCSE results are often framed through the lens of a North-South divide, but that narrative can obscure the challenges facing children in coastal and rural parts of England.
As someone who was brought up in both Cornwall and Devon, I can confirm that it twas ever thus in the "real" Southwest
Away from the glamour of certain parts of Cornwall (thank you Rick Stein and others), there is real poverty amongst the locals, which does to some extent explain the hostility to "incomers", although a lot of that is simply moronic dogwhistling
| Education gap - South West England Posted by grahame at 09:20, 6th August 2026 | |
From The BBC
This year, millions of holidaymakers will head to Cornwall and Devon for their sandy beaches and pretty coastal towns - just two reasons why the South West peninsula is England's top tourist destination.
Yet behind its wild coastal beauty and affluent towns lies a different story: one of lost opportunities and the unfulfilled potential of many growing up in the region.
On almost every measure, the region is among the weakest educationally, according to the South West Social Mobility Commission, a coalition of organisations trying to bring about change.
Disparities in GCSE results are often framed through the lens of a North-South divide, but that narrative can obscure the challenges facing children in coastal and rural parts of England.
Yet behind its wild coastal beauty and affluent towns lies a different story: one of lost opportunities and the unfulfilled potential of many growing up in the region.
On almost every measure, the region is among the weakest educationally, according to the South West Social Mobility Commission, a coalition of organisations trying to bring about change.
Disparities in GCSE results are often framed through the lens of a North-South divide, but that narrative can obscure the challenges facing children in coastal and rural parts of England.
