Annual ‘brain drain’ from market town

With freshers’ week unfolding at campuses across the country, the thoughts of sixth-formers at Malton School are now naturally turning to their own futures.

Sophie Blacklock, 16, hopes to go to Cambridge to study history, with thoughts of going into teaching or research afterwards.

“I just want to get a different experience,” said the Year 12 pupil.

She knows returning to Fadmoor, the village she grew up in, would give her a slimmer chance at a job in her chosen field.

“I’ll probably get a job down in London. I think there’s more chance of getting a job in a big city. I can’t imagine there’s much work here,” she said.

While perhaps too young to have seriously considered Ryedale’s prohibitively high house prices, she is aware they would be an issue if she wanted to stay – as would the area’s limited infrastructure.

“I can imagine living round here is quite expensive because you’ve got to travel so far to get anywhere, like to the shops. We’re always running out of fresh foods and we use a lot of petrol,” she said.

She admits she will miss the sense of community and safety where she grew up, however.

“It’s quite peaceful and it’s nice to have so much family close. I can see myself coming back when I’ve got children,” she said.

“I’d want them to grow up somewhere nice.”