Schools in Matlock

The Peak District National Park presses directly to the west, lending the town an upland character shared by few county headquarters in England. Lea and Hurds Hollow sit closer in.

When John Smedley opened his hydropathic establishment on the hillside above the River Derwent in 1853, Matlock's reputation as Derbyshire's spa county town began to take hold. Lumsdale and Wirksworth are among the most sought-after corners for school catchments in this part of the Dales, with Stanton-in-Peak to the north-west adding a rural dimension to the choice families face. Around 10,000 people live in the civil parish, and the Derwent Valley Line links Matlock station to Derby in roughly 45 minutes.