Extreme lengths to get into ‘right’ school
Parents are going to extreme lengths to get their children into the ‘right’ school, finds
ANeighbourly poll shows almost half would leave their home for the ‘right’ school zone. Parents are going to radical lengths to secure their children a place in coveted schools, from dramatically downsizing, using fake addresses to leaving the family home to rent in another area.
The pressure is greatest in Auckland in desirable school areas, but a Stuff inquiry in a Neighbourly poll shows it extends into the regions as well.
The online nationwide poll asked participants if they would leave their house and rent another to move into a specific school zone. Of more than 1100 people who participated, 45.4 per cent said they would, and nearly 11 per cent said they had already done it.
In popular Auckland high school zones, such as Auckland Grammar School and Epsom Girls’ Grammar School, people have gone to extreme lengths to secure a place.
Equally, the schools have put in measures to stop it – some, including Auckland Grammar and North Shore’s Rangitoto College, having hired private investigators to discover fake enrolments.
Former Remuera resident Carmel Bradley* says she was happy to help close family friends who wanted their daughter to attend Epsom Girls’ Grammar by letting them use her address.
‘‘They couldn’t afford to buy in the zone,’’ Bradley says. ‘‘We had a call from the school one
‘‘Some parents will rent an extra property in zone for the time their child is at school.’’ Bindi Norwell, above
day asking to speak to Ashley; we knew why they were calling.’’
The level of desperation was highlighted when the Bradleys left New Zealand and decided to rent their house.
‘‘A family were keen to rent the house just for the address so their children could attend Auckland Grammar and they would remain in their family home. They knew they’d be better off [financially] to rent for this period of time, rather than increasing their mortgage. The father was a school principal,’’ she says.
James Mills’* case highlights it’s not just at high school level that parents are prepared to uproot their lives for the right school.
Despite only just completing an extensive renovation on his central Auckland home, Mills put their 330sqm house on the market when they discovered they weren’t in their preferred primary school zone.
They’ve since rented a 55sqm apartment. ‘‘We went in the ballot four times and missed out so it came down to finding a rental property or buy in the area, and we couldn’t buy. It has a very small intake,’’ Mills says.
‘‘It was better to get him a place in zone and send him to the school. We didn’t want him to start in one place and then move. People think we’re nuts.’’
Ngaruawahia resident Aaron Jones* has recently put into place a three-year plan to ensure his children attend Hamilton’s popular Rototuna High School.
Money has been put aside to renovate and rent out the family home to shift their children into the school zone for their high school years. ‘‘We know that our boys would have much better opportunities at Rototuna High Schools,’’ he says.
It’s a similar scenario for Taranaki resident Oscar Kelly*. Despite owning a New Plymouth property, for the past two years he has rented in Oakura so his children can attend the local primary school.
‘‘Some people might think we abused the system just to get our kids into the school. We would have stayed in Oakura if we could find an affordable property,’’ he says.
Popular Auckland schools including Mt Albert Grammar and Western Springs and Avondale colleges recently announced they are ceasing enrolments for out-of-zone students because of population pressures.
Bindi Norwell, chief executive of the Real Estate Institute, says this could further drive up house prices in already expensive areas.
Statistics from popular school zones around the country show that if you want to be in a desired school, you will have to pay the price.
At April this year, the REINZ statistics showed the average house price in Hamilton was $540,000.
Yet a house in the Rototuna High Schools zone was 32.5 per cent dearer, at $750,000.
The average price of houses in the coveted Christchurch Boys’ High School zone was $810,000, almost double the city’s average house price of $455,000. In the Epsom Girls’ Grammar School zone, you’ll pay on average $1.82 million almost $1m more than the average Auckland house price of $860,000.
And to buy a house in the Wellington Girls’ College zone, you’ll pay almost 32 per cent more. The average home in the capital costs $575,000, but in the college zone it’s $792,000.
‘‘We hear of parents going to extreme lengths to buy in-zone, such as renting a smaller extra property for the time their child is at school,’’ Norwell says.
‘‘Families will look for a number of specifics when it comes to buying a house. Increasingly school zones is an important consideration particularly in the larger cities.
‘‘Homes within specific school zones tend to achieve a higher price than schools outsize popular zones, and as schools look to end out-of-zone applications, this is likely to add further pricing pressure on properties in that zone.’’
* People’s names have been changed to protect their privacy.