Parents are willing to spend more to live in a school catchment area
When it comes to purchasing a property, many buyers consider everything from the price to the local environment before reaching a decision, and school catchment areas have always played a key role in this process. A recent report published by leading price comparison website Confused.com has highlighted the importance that parents place on this factor, revealing that many schools struggle to accommodate the growing population levels. As a result, many parents are willing to go to extreme lengths, and pay substantially more for their property, to ensure they live within the catchment area of a top-performing school.
The appeal of school catchment areas
After polling a total of 2,000 UK adult parents, Confused.com found that 10% were willing to pay more than £50,000 in excess of their budget to obtain a property in a desirable school catchment area, while 29% admitted to moving house with the express purpose of being in the catchment area of a top-performing school. The desire to see their child in a successful school also led to some parents making decisions on where to live before their child was of school age. The report revealed that 1 in 5 (18%) of the people surveyed started to consider what school they would like their children to go to before they were even born and that a further 12% put their unborn child’s name down on a school waiting list. Another option that nearly a quarter (24%) of parents considered was renting an additional property in the catchment area of their desired school to improve their child’s chances of being accepted.
Catchment areas are sending house prices soaring
As more parents become willing to pay ‘school catchment area premiums’ to ensure their children receive a place in a top academic institution, property prices in these areas have skyrocketed to reflect demand. According to the report, in some cases, it may even work out cheaper for parents to live outside of the catchment areas and pay to send their children to a local private school instead.
For example, the average price of a property in the catchment area of Lowbrook Academy in Maidenhead, one of England’s top state schools, is around £481,023, which is roughly £200,000 more than the average property price in England (£275,721). Considering this, it becomes a more financially viable option for parents to purchase a property at the lower average outside of the catchment area and invest the extra £200,000 in a local private school education for their children. This worrying reality of catchment school premiums has led to concerns that children from less wealthy families are being ‘priced out’ of the best state primary schools.
Cheating the system
The report also revealed that some parents are willing to go to extreme lengths to secure their children places in the top schools; 9% of those surveyed admitted to giving a false address that was situated inside a catchment area to secure their child a place, while 7% confessed to feigning religious observance and a further 4% of parents falsely claimed that they had another child attending a local school to improve the chances of their child being accepted.
Other underhand tactics reported in the survey included sending a child to a nursery because it had close connections with a top primary school and paying extra tuition to ensure a place at a well-performing school.
These findings have raised concerns over the rising primary school population, as well as the shortage of school places for children, and what this means for the general education of Britain’s children. Figures generated by the Department of Education revealed that six primary schools in the UK have just one teacher for 70 pupils, while nearly 100 primary schools have a class size of 50 pupils.
To help parents search local house prices, school ratings and premiums in their area, Confused.com has launched a new online tool that allows you to search your local area and discover those all-important statistics before making a decision. Here at CPS Homes, we have more than 15 years’ experience in selling and letting homes in Cardiff and we’re proud to say that we know the city inside out. So, if you’re thinking about moving house and would like to find out more about living in Cardiff or to discuss your options with an experienced member of our sales team, contact our Albany Road office in Roath on 02920 454555 or email sales@cpshomes.co.uk.
The information contained within this article was correct at the date of publishing and is not guaranteed to remain correct in the present day.
