East Devon Youth Surveys (EDYs)

Introduction

The East Devon Youth Survey is a comprehensive exploration of the opinions of secondary school age children in the district, particularly relating to their leisure activities.

Students from the Sidmouth and Axe Valley Community Colleges together with the Kings School completed a questionnaire which included a range of questions about how they spent their leisure time, their travel patterns, and their favourite activities. Further questions asked what services and facilities they would like the Council to provide.

Key findings from Phases 1,2 and 3 of these studies included:

Phase 1 – Sidmouth College

Of the 700+ pupils (aged 12 – 18 yrs) who took part in this survey, the key findings included:

Just under half of all students lived outside Sidmouth
The most common form of transport to school was walking
Over half of the students told us that they walked to their leisure activities
40% stated that they had a job, working on average 6½ hours per week
The most common reasons for 'leisure' trips were to go shopping or to visit family
The majority of leisure trips were made to Sidmouth, followed by Exeter and Exmouth
The top three favourite activities were shopping, swimming and seeing friends

Students were asked about the type of problems that stopped them doing what they would like to do. Over 400 of the students gave examples of the problems they experienced.

20% told us that they had problems with transport, most commonly relating to the cost of public transport.
16% had problems relating to facilities, concerns that there was nothing or not much to do for people their age.

Just under half of the students told us about what worried them. Schoolwork was the most prominent worry (in 13% of cases).

We asked how likely it would be for the students to participate in a list of physical activities. The results showed that Swimming (in a pool) was the physical activity most likely to be undertaken followed by Cycling, Tennis and Trampoline.

east_devon_youth_survey_-sidmouth_college_phase_1_sept_05.pdf (258KB - 27 March 2006 - PDF Help) To view the full report from the Sidmouth College survey, please click on this link

Phase 2 – Axe Valley Community College

Of the 500+ pupils (aged 12 – 18 yrs) who took part in this survey, the key findings included:

Just under two thirds of all students lived outside Axminster
The most common form of transport to school was the school bus
Over half of the students told us they got a lift in a car to their leisure activities
40% stated that they had a job, working on average 5 ½ hours per week
The most common reasons for ‘leisure trips’ were to go shopping or to see friends and family.
The majority of leisure trips were made to Axminster, Seaton and Exeter
The top three favourite activities were shopping, seeing family and going to Youth Club

Students were asked about the type of problems that stopped them doing what they would like to do.

Over 500 of the students have examples of the problems they had experienced.

15% told us that they had problems with transport, most commonly relating to the cost of public transport
15% had problems relating to facilities, being stopped from playing football in the park, or their favourite activity had been displaced by others.

Just under half of the students told us about what worried them. Being injured (especially by a car) and school work were the most prominent (in 10% of cases).

east_devon_youth_survey_-_phase_2_axe_valley_2006.pdf (251KB - 27 March 2006 - PDF Help) Please click here to view the full report from the Axe Valley Community College survey.

Phase 3 – Kings School, Ottery St. Mary

Of the 552 respondents (aged 12 – 18 yrs) who took part in the survey, the key findings included:

60% of all students lived outside Ottery St. Mary
The most common form of transport to school was school bus
More than a quarter of the students told us that they got a lift to their leisure activities
Just under 40% of respondents said they had a job, working just over 6 ½ hours per week
The most common reasons for ‘leisure’ trips were to go shopping, followed by work and football.
The majority of leisure trips were made to Exeter, followed by Ottery St. Mary and Sidmouth
The top three favourite activities were shopping, football and cycling

Students were asked about the type of problems that stopped them doing what they would like to do and gave examples of the problems they experienced:

25% told us they had problems with transport and the cost of public transport
16% had problems relating to facilities, their favoured activity being unavailable , classes being full, or lack of skateboarding in Ottery St. Mary

Just under half of the students told us what worried them. School work was the most prominent worry (in 21% of cases).

We asked how likely it would be for the students to participate in a list of physical activities.The results showed that Swimming (in a pool) was the physical activity most likely to be undertaken followed by Trampoline, Cycling, Tennis and Swimming (Sea).

east_devon_youth_survey_-kings_school_phase_3.pdf (250KB - 27 March 2006 - PDF Help) Please click here to view the full report from the King's School survey.

Breakdown of the three Youth Surveys

Please click here to view a breakdown of the three youth surveys (31KB - 24 April 2006 - PDF Help).

Page last updated on 25 April 2006