More than half of home movers are battling to buy properties near the country’s top schools in order to secure a place for their children, new research has revealed.
In London the pressure to get children into the best school is even more intense, making it harder to find a home located within the right catchment area, said AnyVan.com.
It’s research revealed 56% of home movers strived to live within the catchment of the highest-ranking schools in the performance tables.
But it also discovered the importance people placed on local schools differed throughout the UK with 72% of Londoners indicated this was an important factor compared to just 41% in Norwich.
Angus Elphinstone, CEO of AnyVan.com, said. “We move thousands of families each month and it’s fair to say a large number of them are moving for the good of their children.
“The pressure to find a place in popular London schools is intensifying. It can be challenging to find a home in a good catchment area, with some as slim as a few hundred square meters which essentially means you need to live within a couple of streets of the school to secure a spot for your child.”
How to find the best local schools?
According to Esphinstone, there are several tips you can follow when moving house to help secure your children a place at one of the top schools.
He advised visiting the schools you were considering because, even if the ratings are good, it was still important to check it out along with the local area.
What’s more, make sure you check the school performance using Ofsted and check out the Gov.uk website to get a more in-depth summary. “Progress 8 and Attainment 8 scores are important factors you should look for when selecting a secondary school,” said Elphinstone.
You should also find out whether there were other admissions criteria to your school of choice – some might require your child to pass an admissions test, such as the 11 Plus, and faith schools might have different criteria.
What do you do if your application is unsuccessful? AnyVan said the most common reason for an application being denied was the school being oversubscribed or the applicant being outside the catchment area.
However, it said about a quarter of appeals were successful so it could be worth trying this route. You can also put your name on a waiting list.
