32 celebrities you didn’t know went to school in Devon

Devon has a long list of celebrities who were born and bred in this wonderful county.

From One Direction’s Niall Horan to singer and song writer Rod Stewart, Devon has had its fair share of famous faces pay a visit to the county over the years.

But what about those who were educated here?

Read more Devon stories here: Midlands family win £3m James Bond style Devon home

Well, as it transpires, there is a pretty impressive number of celebs who have studied in Devon at some of our brilliant schools, colleges and universities.

Perhaps you attended the same school as them, or maybe you’re walking along the same corridors they once frequented.

Below we take a look back at some of the stars who attended schools in Devon:

1) Chris Martin

Born in Whitestone near Exeter, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin has got to be one of the most famous Devonians.

Selling more than 80 million records worldwide, Coldplay have enjoyed great success over the years, their continuing popularity evidenced in their fourth headline appearance last year at Glastonbury Festival.

And prior to his fame and fortune, Chris was once a pupil at Exeter’s oldest and most historic school.

Exeter Cathedral School (ECS), founded in 1,179 as a boys’ choir school is an independent day and boarding school.

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, first began admitting on-chorister pupils in the 1960s and it has been fully co-educational since 1994. To this day, ECS is a flourishing day and boarding school with over 250 pupils aged three to 13 years old. Read more here.

2) Matt Bellamy

Matt Bellamy has had roaring success with his rock group Muse – selling 20 million albums worldwide and winning a plethora of awards.

Though he was born in Cambridge, the singer grew up in Teignmouth, Devon after he and his family moved here in the mid-1980s.

Matt attended Teignmouth Community School during which time Matt began playing in a number of bands, met his Muse bandmates and created the classic lineup we know and love today.

In fact, his first musical performance was at the school, where he played piano in front of his classmates at the age of 12. Read more here.

3) Matthew Goode

Actor Matthew Goode, who plays Declan in Leap Year, was born in Exeter and grew up in Clyst St. Mary.

According to IMDb, the star, who has worked in The Imitation Game, Stoker, Watchmen and more, attended Exeter School.

The actor is reportedly good friends with Benedict Cumberbatch, Laurence Fox and his favourite band is Coldplay.

4) Joss Stone

Singer and song writer Joss Stone is another star which was educated in Devon.

Joss, who was born in Dover, moved to Devon and spent her teenage years in Ashill, a small pastoral village near Cullompton in Devon.

According to IMDb, Joss attended Uffculme Comprehensive School, where she made her first public appearance with a cover version of Jackie Wilson’s 1957 song « Reet Petite ».

5) Luke Treadaway

Actor Luke Treadaway, well known for his role in ‘A Street Cat Named Bob’, was born in Exeter.

The star was brought up in Sandford, near Crediton, Devon and according to IMDb, attended Queen Elizabeth’s School in Crediton.

6) J.K Rowling

Although she’s not actually from Devon, Harry Potter author JK Rowling – one of the 21 centuries literary champions – studied at University of Exeter and reportedly took much of her inspiration for books from the city, would you believe!

As a student at the University of Exeter, the author explored the city and incorporated much of its charm into her work – if you’ve ever visited the bustling back alley of Gandy Street, you’ll immediately see it’s resemblance to Diagon Alley.

Despite claims, the author announced last year that two long-standing urban myths that resonate within the city are indeed false.

It was widely thought that Gandy Street in Exeter inspired the infamous Diagon Alley.

Another being that the Harry Potters ‘Leaky Cauldron’ was based on The Old Fire House pub in Exeter.

The famous author has not only crushed the dreams of Exeter-based fans, but Rowling has also fire a killing curse at other rumours involving a wealth of locations across the globe .

7) Ben Howard

Musician Ben Howard, who was born in Bantham and grew up in Totnes, attended KEVICC school.

Last year, the double Brit award-winning singer submitted plans to build a communal farm in Devon.

Speaking to the BBC last year, Ben said: « I grew up in Totnes and started surfing at a young age which inevitably in the South Hams meant trips to Bantham week in, week out.

« There are people I have surfed with at Bantham for the best part of 20 years and I still only know their first names.

« The truth of today’s modern working world in the countryside setting is that many young professionals work from home in isolation, to the detriment of community and also of creativity.

« I think there is a great opportunity to create spaces where the interaction of ideas and the crossover of recreation and work can benefit everyone. » Read more here.

8) Cosmo Jarvis

Singer and Peaky Blinders actor Cosmo Jarvis went to Ivybridge Sports College.

According to IMDb, Cosmo was born in the US prior to moving and growing up in Totnes.

According to an interview, Cosmo attended also attended Keviccs for six months.

9) Zara Tindall

The daughter of Princess Anne and the eldest granddaughter of the Queen studied physiotherapy at the University of Exeter.

Zara recently gave birth to her third child Lucas back in March this year.

She and her rugby pro husband Mike, met in Australia in 2003 where they often go on holiday there with their children.

In 2019, Zara gave an interview in the local Women’s Weekly which is where she spoke about her connection with Australia and how her daughter Mia fell in love with swimming there. Read more here.

10) Rosie Alice Huntington-Whiteley

Rosie, who is best known for her work as a Victoria’s Secrets lingerie model and as a movie actress, was born in Plymouth.

Devon maid Rosie Huntington-Whiteley was born at Freedom Fields hospital to local couple Fiona and Charles, who worked in a jewellers and for a land agency firm respectively, Rosie was raised on a farm near Tavistock with her parents and siblings and attended Tavistock College.

Whilst she had always loved fashion and aspired to make a name for herself, it was on a work experience placement in London that really threw Rosie into the modelling industry and sparked her desire to make modelling her career.

11) Vanessa Kirby

Speaking of the Royals, Vanessa Kirby who is widely known for her portrayal of Princess Margaret in The Crown, also studied at Exeter University.

Vanessa has been in many blockbuster films such as Mission: Impossible, Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw and Me Before You.

She studied English at the university.

12) Josh Widdicombe

Devon-born comedian Josh Widdicombe was born in London, but grew up on Dartmoor, and attended South Dartmoor Community College as a teenager.

The star, whose parents still live in Devon, has recently discovered that one of his ancestors is Henry VIII.

Josh, who grew up in Haytor Vale, near Widecombe-in-the-Moor on Dartmoor, discovered that the King was his 23 times great-grandfather.

His link to Henry VIII is through a distant great nan, said to be the king’s illegitimate daughter – while he also found out he is also descended from Edward I. Read more here.

13) Dr Alex George

Unsurprisingly, Dr Alex George studied medicine at the University of Exeter.

The A&E doctor and former Love Island star lost his brother Llŷr to suicide in 2020. Since then, Alex has been campaigning for better mental health support for young people.

In February 2021, he was appointed as an Ambassador for Mental Health after calling on the Government to do more to support those with mental health difficulties. He now helps advise the Government on how to make mental health a priority in the UK.

14) Will Young

Singer-songwriter, author and actor Will first came to prominence after winning ITV talent contest Pop Idol in 2002.

He studied politics and graduated from the University of Exeter in 2001.

15) Ollie Watkins

Devon’s Ollie Watkins reportedly spent most of his days in Newton Abbot, despite being born in Torquay.

Ollie, who plays for Aston Villa FC, studied at South Dartmoor Community College.

16) ‘Dick and Dom’ Dominic Wood

Dominic Wood attended Exeter College.

The presenter from Exeter forms one half of the iconic ‘Dick and Dom’, which was children’s TV gold in the early 2000’s.

Richard ‘Dick’ McCourt and Dominic ‘Dom’ Wood, from Exeter, were a big part of many peoples childhoods with them getting up to mischief shouting ‘BOGIES!!’ louder and louder in public spaces.

Although they may still get members of the public shouting ‘BOGIES!’ at them to this day, these two men have come a long way since their early CBBC days. Read more here.

17) Beattie Edmondson

Actress Beattie Edmondson, daughter of Jennifer Saunders and Adrian Edmondson, attended Exeter School.

The star is known for her roles in a number of films including Bridget Jones Baby.

And, her mother Jennifer Saunders, lives on a farm in Chagford, Devon.

18) Thom Yorke

The Radiohead frontman studied Fine Art and English at Exeter and has described some of his lecturers as « inspirational. »

19) Matthew Wright

Former journalist and TV presenter Matthew hosted The Wright Stuff on Channel 5 for eighteen years.

He graduated in English and Drama from the University of Exeter.

20) Georgia Toffolo

Devon-born Made in Chelsea star Georgia Toffolo who is from Torquay attended The Maynard School – a private, independent school in Exeter.

Sadly, the reality TV star revealed to The Sun that she was badly bullied at the age of 12 during her time at the school. Read more here.

Toff, who hails from Torquay, has previously spoken of her love for Devon, including sharing her love of a Tiverton Tesco and her « favourite » nightclub, Timepiece.

21) Mark ‘The Beast’ Labbett

British quizzer and television personality Mark is known as The Beast for his appearances on the ITV gameshow The Chase.

Born in Tiverton, Mark did a teaching qualification at the University of Exeter.

22) Katy Ashworth

Actress Katy began her television career presenting the kid’s cookery show I Can Cook on CBeebies and studied drama at the University of Exeter, graduating in 2009.

23) Charlie Frederick

Love Island hunk Charlie Frederick stole many hearts in his short stint on the reality TV show in 2018.

He won over viewers with his chiselled abs, cheeky charm and his attempts to help Alex, aka ‘Dr Love’ win over Meghan.

The surfer-dude attended Yealmpton Primary School as a fair-haired, baby-faced child – and went on to study at Ivybridge Community College.

He dated Arabelle Chi and also had a brief relationship with Lucie Donlan from Newquay, in 2019.

The pair even jetted off to Portugal on a romantic getaway before calling it a day.

He has recently appeared on reality show Made in Chelsea on E4, and has also been showing off his abs with lockdown workout videos on Instagram.

24) Katie Hopkins

The highly controversial media figure studied economics at Exeter.

Last year, Katie was was born in Barnstaple, had her Twitter account ‘permanently suspended’ for violating the social media platform’s ‘hateful conduct policy’.

Exeter-resident Hopkins, had more than 1.1m followers, but had her blue tick – given to verify that accounts of public interest are authentic – removed. Read more here.

25) Lewis Pugh

Endurance swimmer Lewis grew up on Dartmoor and went to school in Tavistock.

The 50-year-old was the first person ever to swim the length of the Thames, and has completed a 330-mile swim along the length of the English Channel – as he urged the Government to better protect UK waters.

He’s best known for undertaking an epic swim across the North Pole in 2007, which had never been done before, to highlight the melting of sea ice in the Arctic.

26) Rhod Gilbert

The Welsh comedian studied languages at Exeter, but was an incredibly shy student.

Speaking to WalesOnline, he said: « I wouldn’t go to the canteen like everyone else, I’d instead choose to buy my food from the local petrol garage and then I’d eat it alone in my room. »

Rhod went on to be a huge success in the comedy world. He is now a familiar face, with regular appearances on TV shows such as Mock The Week, Live at the Apollo and QI.

27) Seth Lakeman

Seth Lakeman has thousands of followers around the globe and in 2005, was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize.

The former Tavistock Community College pupil has belonged to several music ensembles over the years, including one with his two brothers, Sam and Sean.

28) Luke Friend

Luke has got to be one of the nicest contestants to ever appear on the X-Factor.

This longhaired hero from Teignmouth certainly stole the nations hearts after winning Teenstar in 2013 and later becoming a finalist on the tenth series of the ITV hit show.

According to IMDb, Luke attended Coombeshead Academy in Newton Abbot.

29) Hugo Hammond

Although he didn’t technically study there, Hugo Hammond for Love Island 2021 series completed his Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) at Clyst Vale Community College.

Speaking to DevonLive, a spokesperson for the college said that Hugo spent time at the school this academic year as part of his PGCE.

30) Sajid Jhavid

The Conservative politician and former Chancellor of the Exchequer studied economics and politics at Exeter.

31) Dominic Howard

Dominic Howard, member of Muse band, attended Teignmouth Community School along with band made Matt Bellamy.

Allegedly, it was here that the Muse bandmates created the classic lineup we know and love today.

32) Michael Caines

Celebrity chef Michael Caines was born in Exeter in 1969 and adopted into a large and loving family.

The chef runs Mickey’s Restaurant in Exmouth, which was recently opened.

Michael attended Exeter Catering College where his precocious talent was clearly evident, earning him the accolade “Student of the Year” in 1987.

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