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East DurhamLiving in East Durham

Many questions are asked when someone decides to relocate to a new area. These questions will probably include:

How will we find somewhere to live?
Are there good schools nearby?
How will I get to work?

House prices have risen in East Durham; however, compared to other areas of England and Wales they are still very reasonable. At the lower end of the housing market, house prices in East Durham are such that many people currently renting elsewhere in the country could afford to get a solid foot on the property ladder.

Average House Prices

East Durham		England & Wales
Average Cost:	£109,488	Average Cost:	£210,578
Detached:	£193,203	Detached:	£323,332
Semi-detached:	£104,806	Semi-detached:	£189,617
Terraced:	£79,625	Terraced:	£168,134
Flat:	£71,706	Flat:	£196,505

Figures for England and

Wales

are for the period April to June 2007.

Schools

East Durham is in close proximity to five regional universities; there are a host of primary schools, six comprehensives and one further education college within East Durham, all play a pivotal role in the community, delivering a range of activities and engaging young people and families.

East Durham will benefit from investment in the region of £90 million in the first of four phases of activity at the County level through the Building Schools for the Future programme. GCSE attainment within the district has experienced considerable improvement in recent years. In 1997 approx 25% of pupils achieved 5 A*–C grades at GCSE, but by 2006 this had increased to alomost 50%. The rate of educational improvement of schools in Easington is rising faster than the national average.

Percentage of KS4 achieving 5 A*-C at GCSE, 1997 - 2007
	1997	2007	% Change
Easington	26.9	54.8	27.9
County Durham	36.3	60.2	23.9
England	45.1	62.0	16.9

There are also a number of well-respected independent fee-paying schools around the District, please see to your left for more details.

Lifelong Learning

In East Durham education doesn’t stop at 19, lifelong learning is strongly promoted. At East Durham Business Service training grants can be offered to those considering self employment, the grant supports the attainment of additional skills appropriate to a planned start up business.

Business Support - Skills and Training

Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships East Durham is managed by East Durham Business Service. Apprenticeships are an excellent way to prepare you for the world of work and can serve as an alternative route to employment. The scheme lets you earn money at the same time as gaining nationally recognised qualifications in a diverse range of sectors. For further information use the link below:

Apprenticeships East Durham

Universities

The North East benefits from five regional universities across the North East, providing significant opportunities and resources to individuals and businesses alike. Please use the links to your left.

Two North East universities have been named amongst the world’s top universities in the Times Higher Education Supplement. Durham and Newcastle Universities achieved 122nd place and 162nd place respectively in the World University Rankings, a league table of the world's best 200 universities, selected from the thousands worldwide.

Two North East universities are joining with six others from the north of England to create a network of virtual research centres to help drive business and technological development in the region. The £6m virtual research centre project, funded by the Northern Way Initiative, will see businesses come together with academics from Newcastle, Durham, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, York, Sheffield, and Lancaster universities to develop research in 5 key areas: energy, sustainable water use, ageing and related health issues, regenerative medicine, and molecular engineering.

Substantial support for the project is also being provided by the universities themselves. This is the first time in the UK that a group of universities have formed a jointly-held company, specifically to work together and do deals with business. Teams of researchers from each of the eight northern universities (known as the N8 group) will work on programmes jointly developed from discussions with business and industry.

Travel to Work

Commuting into London and other major cities can be a job in itself. Overcrowded trains and road congestion are unavoidable. East Durham on the other hand is in close proximity to the A19 and is easily reached within three quarters of an hour from most nearby cities.

From	Travel Time	Mode
Newcastle upon Tyne	40 mins	Car
Sunderland	20 mins	Car
Durham	20 mins	Car

As East Durham is a mainly rural area, it is possible to live in the house of your dreams with views over magnificent countryside and yet be at your workplace within three quarters of an hour at the most. For further information by on national and local public transport, please use links below:

National Rail Network

Local Public Transport

Homes

Finding somewhere to live in new areas can be difficult, these problems are mitigated in East Durham by lower than average house prices as shown in the table below:

	Easington	County Durham	England & Wales
Average Cost:	£109,488	£126,515	£210,578
Detached:	£193,203	£224,419	£323,332
Semi-detached:	£104,806	£125,106	£189,617
Terraced:	£79,625	£96,139	£168,134
Flat:	£71,706	£114,130	£196,505