School designated areas
This page provides information on the designated areas – or catchment areas – which have been determined or proposed by Devon County Council or the governing bodies and trusts of schools which have responsibility for their own arrangements.
- Primary and secondary school designated areas for 2014-15
- Primary and secondary school designated areas for 2015-16
- Primary and secondary School designted areas for 2016-17
Maps will be those for 2015-16 except for changes that may be made in South Molton subject to proposals for the Infant and Junior Schools to become two primary schools with their own designated areas. Once admissions policies for Devon schools have been determined, a new map layer will be created.
Designated areas and school admissions
The decision about whether a school will operate a designated area for admissions purposes lies with the admissions authority for the school. For most schools in Devon, there is admissions priority for children if they live in the designated area. It is helpful for you to know whether or not your child lives in a school’s designated area.
The following schools do not operate designated areas:
- All Saints CofE Primary School (Marsh), Newton Abbot
- Colyton Grammar School
- Our Lady and St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School, Teignmouth
- Our Lady’s Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple
- Route 39 Academy
- Sparkwell All Saints Primary School
- St John the Baptist Catholic Primary School
- St John’s Catholic Primary School, Tiverton
- St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Exmouth
- St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Newton Abbot
- St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Axminster
- St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Buckfast
- St Nicholas Catholic Primary School, Exeter
- St Peter’s CE Aided School, Exeter
- Steiner Academy Exeter
You can view their admission arrangements for each academic year in full on their own websites or at Arrangements and policies.
Designated areas and School Transport
The decision about whether a school’s designated area will be accepted for transport purposes lies with the local authority.
There is a statutory entitlement to free transport to and from the nearest available school under certain circumstances – in Devon this is for children resident in the Devon County Council area who are at secondary school and live further than 3 miles and for those who are at primary school and live further than 2 miles. There is further entitlement for those on a low income and those on a low income attending the nearest faith school available. In all cases, children must satisfy the distance criterion for school transport.
More information about school transport is available here.
Additionally, we provide free transport to children who satisfy the distance criterion above and who attend a single school designated for their address. The designated area maps will tell you whether you may be entitled to transport on designated school grounds. For Further Education Colleges and school sixth forms, Devon recognises designated areas for transport purposes and supports transport.
The Education Transport Policy is set by the Council and not by individual schools. While some schools can set their own designated areas, the decision whether to provide transport on designated school grounds for all or part of that area lies with the Council.
Exceptions to designated school transport
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Newton Abbot - Newton Abbot College and Coombeshead Academy
Transport on designated school grounds is only available to one secondary school. Residents of Newton Abbot should be aware that the designated areas for the schools are the same. Priority for residents will exist to both schools for admissions purposes but transport on designated school grounds will only be available to the single designated college.
When you click within the Newton Abbot area, both secondary schools will be named as the designated secondary school – the designated school for transport purposes will be named first. In the southern and eastern part of the area that will be Newton Abbot College; in the northern and western part it will be Coombeshead Academy.
Example 1, addresses in Ipplepen will show Coombeshead / Newton Abbot as the designated secondary school. There is:
- admissions priority for Ipplepen residents to both Coombeshead Academy and Newton Abbot College
- designated school transport only to Coombeshead where it is more than three miles from home
- nearest school transport to whichever school is nearest to the home address, where it is more than three miles from home
- low income transport entitlement to any one of the three closest schools to the home address where they lie between two and six miles from home
Example 2, addresses in Kingskerswell will show Newton Abbot / Coombeshead as the designated secondary school. There is:
- admissions priority for Ipplepen residents to both Newton Abbot College and Coombeshead Academy
- designated school transport only to Newton Abbot College where it is more than three miles from home
- nearest school transport to whichever school is nearest to the home address, where it is more than three miles from home
- low income transport entitlement to any one of the three closest schools to the home address where they lie between two and six miles from home
The statutory entitlement to free transport on nearest school grounds to whichever college is the closest to home or on low-income grounds will continue to be available.
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Sidmouth – Sidmouth CofE Primary School
Transport on designated school grounds is only available to one of the primary school’s three sites. Residents of Sidmouth should be aware that the former Infant and Junior Schools in the town have been replaced by a single primary school but using the same three sites. Children in Key Stage 2 will be educated at the former junior school site and transport entitlement will be unaffected. For Key Stage 1 children, transport will not be available on designated school grounds to both former infant school sites. It will be available to the nearer of the two sites only. Once a place has been offered for your Key Stage 1 child, you will be invited to express a preference for which site you would like your child to attend. Please consider whether there will be a transport entitlement.
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Crediton - Queen Elizabeth’s
For children attending Queen Elizabeth’s, entitlement to education transport support on designated school grounds will be based on the distance from home to the site at which the pupil will be educated: Lower School or Upper School. Please note transport entitlement may be affected as pupils move from the Lower to the Upper School.
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Exeter – St Michael’s Church of England Primary Academy
St Michael’s Primary School operates a designated area for admissions purposes which overlaps with a number of other primary schools in the city. It covers the area of the parish of Heavitree and there are significantly more children in this area than the school could accommodate. Every address has another designated school.
The majority of addresses lie within a walking distance of two miles and therefore would not have a general entitlement to transport.
Those addresses beyond two miles have another designated school closer and it is to the other school that designated school transport would be available if the walking distance is further than two miles. Consequently, there is no entitlement to transport on designated school grounds to St Michael’s.
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Barnstaple - Pilton Bluecoat Academy
The academy trust has extended its designated area to the west by approximately 300 metres west along the A361, to include the whole of Horridge, Ashford and Ashford House. This covers part of the pre- existing designated area for Southmead School. While there will be an admissions priority for Pilton from these addresses, the LA will not provide free transport on designated school ground, although there is an entitlement to transport on nearest school grounds where addresses are further than a walking distance of two miles.
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Bickleigh and Wembury
The designated areas for Bickleigh Down Church of England Primary School and Wembury Primary School do not have designated secondary schools. Previously, they were in area for Combe Dean School and Tor Bridge High respectively. As Plymouth schools, they no longer operate designated areas. Consequently, addresses in Bickleigh and Wembury do not have an admissions priority for secondary school. Nevertheless, the LA will support free transport on designated grounds – where addresses are further than a walking distance of three miles.
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Abbotsham
The admissions designated area for St Helen’s Church of England Primary School consists of the ecclesiastical parishes of Abbotsham and Alwington. This differs from the designated area shown on the map for transport purposes which is shown here. For further advice on the school’s own admissions priority area, please contact the school. This affects small additional areas to the south, east and north of the designated area shown here. Please note, there will be discussion with schools in the area to consider alternatives during the autumn of 2015.