Local News

St Sidwell’s Primary School and Nursery, described as ‘highly Inclusive where pupils thrive and feel a lasting sense of belonging’, has been praised under the renewed OFSTED framework.

St Sidwell’s Primary School, located on York Road in Exeter, has been highlighted as a ‘strong’ effective provider of education across all grades under the revised inspection framework which introduced in November 2025.

The renewed inspection framework has brought significant changes to how schools are evaluated, with a sharper focus on curriculum and teaching quality, inclusion,...

The spirit of a medieval saint will be evoked in a new community ritual for Dartmoor, which aims to reconnect people with water and the land.

St Gudula’s Well in Ashburton, an ancient holy well, will be the focus of the ceremony, which will honour water as the source of all life, and also celebrate the start of summer.

‘Gudula’s Gathering’ has been conceived by events curator and writer Kirsteen McNish, and Helen Bruce of the Dartmoor Preservation Association, as the closing event for the Dartmoor Tors Festival.

It will incorporate a community procession and a...

In 2025, Topsham business HCT Turf launched its ‘Turf it Forward’ campaign, offering up to 150 square metres of locally grown turf to a deserving community space. Hospiscare ’s Searle House in Exeter was selected as the winner, with plans to refresh the hospice garden and the lawn at the main entrance.

The team had hoped to lay the turf in November, but Storm Claudia brought heavy rain and high winds across the South West, making the work impossible. Soon after, major building works at Searle House meant the site was inaccessible, forcing the project to be put on hold.

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Students from West Exe School have represented their community at a national anti-bullying conference in London.

Ayeisha, William and Willow, Senior Anti-Bullying Ambassadors at the school, travelled to the capital with staff to take part in the first Young Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA) meeting for the 2026 England and Wales cohort.

The conference brought together young people from across the country to share ideas, develop strategies, and strengthen efforts to tackle bullying in schools.

The day also included open discussions about the impact of social media and...