The towns that are top of the class for schools
WHERE to live when children come along is one of the biggest decisions facing couples. A safe local area is all-important — but equally vital is access to good schools.
Farid Bagheri and his wife, Svetlana, were happy in their twobedroom apartment in trendy Canary Wharf until their baby daughter, now three, was born and the couple realised it was not the best place to raise a family.
After careful research they decided to move to more leafy Mill Hill in North London. Farid, who paid £900,000 for a spacious top-floor apartment at Barratt’s Ridgeway Views development, says: ‘It was mainly for schools — there are excellent state and independent schools nearby.’
But buying close to a popular school is expensive. An estate agent recently reported that he had a family prepared to pay £10,000 a month to rent close to Worth School, in West Sussex.
Here are other desirable areas with a good choice of schools:
HARROGATE
THE former Victorian spa town attracts weekly commuters to London and Leeds and those who can work from home, attracted by such good primary schools as Western and Springwell, and Harrogate Grammar. But it comes at a price, with an average of £410,000. A five-bedroom townhouse in Valley Drive, near Western Primary, is on the market with struttandParker.com for £1.3 million.
NEWBURY
BEING close to the M4’s Silicon Valley makes Newbury the natural habitat of IT executives. Their children do well in local primary schools such as John Rankin and Falkland, and, at secondary stage, St Bartholomew’s gains outstanding results.
The average property costs £396,000. Or try nearby Thatcham, where Kennet School is very good and you can find a three-bedroom house for £250,000.
CHELTENHAM
THE Gloucestershire town is almost as renowned for its top quality state and private schools as it is for its elegant squares. Ofsted judges many of the primaries — notably Christ Church and Gloucester Road — as outstanding, and in Charlton Kings the much-vaunted comprehensive, Balcarras has even sponsored an off-shoot, Leckhampton High. Expect to pay £420,000 for a three- bedroom semi near Balcarras.
COWBRIDGE
WITH its wine bars and chi- chi fashion boutiques Welsh town Cowbridge has the feel of an upmarket Devon village. Its schools are a huge attraction, with Y Bont Faen primary, which teaches through the medium of English, judged as good while Cowbridge Comprehensive boasts some of the best exam results in Wales. House prices are high, averaging £563,000, but more affordable developments are springing up on the outskirts of town. A three-bedroom house in Geraints Way is £265,000 with wattsandmorgan.co.uk.
TRURO
BOASTING successful primary schools such as Tregony Community Primary and St Mary’s, as well as a cluster of excellent state and private schools, Truro could claim to be the education capital of Cornwall. The average house price is £334,000, with sought-after homes in Trevethow Riel, a Georgian- style development with prices from £280,000.