Families are moving to the countryside to bring up their children away from city life and using broadband connections to work from home.

Ten years ago the Commission for Rural Communities had reported that the search for a better quality of life in the countryside was being led by the newly retired and those planning retirement. There were concerns that rural areas could soon become enclaves of the elderly and infirm, with insufficient people to help with their care or take on domestic chores.

The State of the Countryside 2008, published today, shows, by contrast, that most people moving to villages are aged from 44 to 54, and have children. During 2005-06, the latest year for which figures are available, arrivals in rural areas totalled 110,070. There were 84,680 people - mainly in their teens and twenties - who left such communities to find jobs in towns or to study at college and university.

The favourite destination for families to build a new life is the South West - rural and seaside areas of Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. Families are also choosing to move to the South Coast, to villages within 37 miles of London, and rural areas within commuting distance of other cities.

The prospect of better education is among the attractions. More 11-year-olds and 13-year-olds at rural schools scored Level 4 and above in Key Stage tests in English, mathematics and science than those in urban schools. At GCSE, two thirds of pupils in bigger villages achieved five or more Grades A to C, compared with about half of those in urban areas. The newcomers are not deterred by house prices being higher, on average, than in urban areas - or a lack of public services.

Stuart Burgess, chairman of the commission, said: “I think this trend is having a positive impact. These are people with jobs and children who are leading full lives in the community. Many are also entrepreneurs and are using improved technology to create new businesses or work from home. They are bringing jobs with them.”

Newcomers have been pricing local young people and families out of the property market, and Mr Burgess said that the lack of affordable housing remained the most pressing issue facing the countryside. He argued that this could be mitigated if the Government made the building of cheap homes for key workers a priority.

Case study

The sound of police helicopters above their home near Manchester reminded Kevin and Christine Sadler of the danger their son faced on the streets.

It was one reason why they began seeking a new life in the countryside to share with Ben, now 13. Mr Sadler left his job at the Lowry arts centre in Salford and the couple bought a converted chapel in the village of Dunster, near Exmoor, in Somerset.

They have built up a thriving café and arts and crafts shop and, while they miss the cultural aspect of city life, Ben has a freedom that they never could have envisaged in a city.

“Here he can get on his bike and go to the beach or to the woods. You don’t worry about it in a village,” Mr Sadler said. “Everyone knows him and the schools are fantastic.

“If I hear a helicopter these days it’s for a local air show or, sadly, a sea rescue.”

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