Parents paying extra £80,000 for homes near to top schools
Even higher premium of £100,000 paid in Edinburgh and Aberdeen
PARENTS are paying a premium of £80,000 above the average house price to live in the catchment area of the country’s top state schools, according to new research.
The average price of a property around Scotland’s top 20 secondary schools is £249,635, which is 68 per cent above the Scottish average, according to the Bank of Scotland study.
In three of Scotland’s local authority areas – Edinburgh, Aberdeen and East Dunbartonshire – the premium to live near a top performing school is more than £100,000, when compared to their surrounding areas.
Parents in Edinburgh are paying the most, with the catchment for St Thomas of Aquin’s High School attracting a premium of £145,022, against the local authority average of £232,357.
House prices near Boroughmuir High School in the capital, which comes fourth in the list of top 20 state schools, are now on average £354,378, a premium of 53 per cent.
House buyers in East Dunbartonshire will pay a premium of £107,759 to live near its top performing schools, while in Aberdeen City the figure is £103,283.
Graham Blair, mortgages director at Bank of Scotland, said: “Being in the catchment for a good school is one of the major considerations parents take into account when purchasing a property and it is clear those choosing to buy near one of Scotland’s top 20 state schools are paying a significant premium.
“While homeowners buying in these catchments are likely to make a reasonable return on their invest- ment over the longer term, it is also important to recognise that parents on low or average incomes may be unable to get their children access to the best schools.”
The study also suggested that living near a top performing state school appears to be a shrewd investment based on house price performances in these areas over the last five years.
Parents who bought a home near one of the top 20 schools in 2011 have seen an average house price rise of £32,817, from £216,818 to £249,635in2016–anincreaseof one per cent.
This is a faster rise, in cash terms, than in Scotland as a whole, where the average house price has grown over the same period from £141,905 to £169,552 – a rise of £27,647.
The biggest increases in prices around the top 20 schools have been in East Dunbartonshire wheretheaveragecostofahousein the catchments for Bearsden and Boclair academies has gone up by 45 per cent over the past five years from £228,257 in 2011 to £331,304 in2016.
Scottish Conservative shadow education secretary Liz Smith said families were “being priced out of attending higher performing schools” with poorer parents unable to afford the tens of thousands of pounds extra needed to live in desirable catchment areas.
Ms Smith said a two-tiered system was emerging in state schools and reform was needed to halt the problem.
She added: “By devolving power to the schools themselves and allowing headteachers to make more decisions, we can hopefully ensure that all schools are good schools.”
The school ranking was compiled using Standard Grade performance data from the Scottish Government and reflects the percentage of pupils achieving Highers of 5+ at SCQF L6 or better in2016.
‘‘ Being in the catchment area of a good school is a major consideration for parents when purchasing a property