The paper draws upon research council-funded ethnographic work in two English, rural primary schools and their villages to explore the themes of belonging and exclusion in contemporary rural contexts. The locations offer illuminating contrasts, due to their differing sizes (one almost subsumed by the expanding nearby town, the other small but experiencing an intense period of expansion post-war). Beginning with descriptions of associations formed within and around the respective schools, the paper maps out and explores the meaning of rurality in the twenty-first century context in relation to themes of class, ethnicity, gender and background. The context of the rural spaces discussed priorities certain characteristics above others through interactional processes and associated signs and symbols. These include, not the “usual suspects” of length of residence, but are informed by former industries in the history of the village and also key roles inside the contemporary institutions of the village (both front stage and back stage) that – interesting – are currently occupied by women. The paper aims to use ethnographic empirical data as a lens to provide theoretical insight into relationships flowing from and around educational institutions but remaining shaped by the historical and geographic circumstances within which they are formed.