This is according to research from PrimeLocation.com which found that property prices within the catchment areas of the country’s top 50 state schools are 35% higher than the rest of the UK.
The most expensive catchment area among Britain’s top ten state schools is around The Henrietta Barnett School in Barnet, London, where the average house price is £655,429.
Other state schools at the top of the house price league include St Olave’s and St Saviour’s Grammar in Orpington, Kent – ranked as the second best state school in the UK – as well as tenth-placed Queen Elizabeth’s School in north London, which both saw average asking prices within the catchment area exceed twice the national average.
Overall, the average asking price of a house near one of Britain’s top 50 state schools is currently £298,378 – 35% higher than the UK average price of £221,110. And for those unable to buy, the average monthly rent of £944 is 7.8% higher than the UK as a whole.
But high house prices and good schools aren’t always present together. Parents on a more modest budget may well be interested to hear that the highest ranked state school in the UK, Bishop Wordsworth’s Grammar School in Salisbury, has lower average asking prices of £286,112.
And parents are increasingly considering renting properties within catchment areas of good state schools to improve the chances of securing a place for their child. Six of the top 50 schools have local rental costs above £1,500, with rental prices near Beaconsfield High School commanding the greatest premiums, of £2,458 per month on average.
Nigel Lewis, property analyst at PrimeLocation.com, said: “For many years now the challenges of the catchment area-based lottery for state schools have vexed millions of parents across the UK – and our research highlights how much it can cost to get your child into the ideal school.
“More and more people are questioning this and one council, Brighton & Hove, has partially abandoned the catchment area system where places at oversubscribed secondary schools are randomly allocated as a tie-breaker.
“Buckinghamshire’s schools, on the other hand, are popular among parents as they still use the eleven-plus exam system and have a single-sex school policy, which drives up demand and, in turn, asking prices.
“However, prices are not always indicative of performance, with Bishop Wordsworth’s Grammar in Salisbury ranking as the top state school in Britain and also boasting relatively modest average house prices of around £286,000.”
