HOME IS WHERE THE
With people moving miles to ensure a good education for their children, Caroline Mcghie shops around in a few prime locations
The perfect combination for any family searching for a new home is a good school nearby, an affordable house and easy access to work. This is the holy grail of the property market and one of its principal drivers. Many will spend years preparing for entry to a topperforming state secondary school. “Location is important because the gap between the good and bad schools is so wide,” says Jonathan Harington of search agents Haringtons. “People will move miles and change their whole lives for 10 years of schooling. About 70 per cent to 80 per cent of our buyers outside London have already decided what school they want, and are looking for the house to go with it.” The place: suburbia on London’s southern rim with a super-commute (16 minutes by train) into London stations. “Entry is by tough exam, so parents usually look for a house only after a child has secured a place,” says Diane Elliott-Hale of Alan de Maid estate agents. “A lot of children come by train from inner London.” The schools: St Olave’s Grammar (boys, mixed in sixth); Newstead Wood School (girls, mixed in sixth). House for sale: five-bedroom house in Warren Road, £750,000, Alan de Maid (0168 981 4544). The place: prime educational real estate with millionaires’ rows laid out around charming twisted hilltop streets. “It attracts families whose kids want to walk to school rather than be seen being dropped off by the limousine,” says Trevor Abrahmsohn of Glentree estate agents. The schools: Henrietta Barnett School (girls); Queen Elizabeth’s School (boys) at Barnet. House for sale: three-bedroom Grade II listed cottage on Hampstead Way, £895,000, Glentree (020 8458 7311). The place: commuter hotspot (35 minutes to Liverpool Street by train), close to the atmospheric Crouch and Blackwater estuaries. “These very competitive grammar schools have just changed the rules so you now have to live within 12½ miles to apply,” says Mark Davies of Strutt & Parker. The schools: Chelmsford County High for Girls; King Edward VI Grammar (boys, mixed in sixth). House for sale: four-bedroom Seventies house in Maltese Road at £725,000, Strutt & Parker (01245 254600). The place: “This is very plush commuter belt south of Manchester, where an awful lot of people move for the schools,” says Anthony Jevons of JacksonStops & Staff. “Some even start planning at birth to get their children into the right primary schools and know exactly which streets they want to be in.” Trains and the metro link deliver commuters in half an hour. Nearby Hale has fashionable boutiques and restaurants. The schools: Altrincham (girls); Altrincham Grammar School for Boys. House for sale: five-bedroom family house called Edgemoor, in Hale, at £1.495million, Jackson-Stops & Staff (0161 928 8881). The place: on the River Thames with Hampton Court across the bridge, full of bars and restaurants, a charming village within London. “Competition for school entry is incredibly tough, with around 140 admissions each year, and we understand the schools typically receive in excess of 10 applications for every place,” says James Morrison of Savills. “We certainly have buyers who specifically move to the area to be near the school gates.” The schools: The Tiffin (girls), Tiffin School (boys). House for sale: six-bedroom house in Manorgate Road at the foot of Kingston Hill, £1.525million, Savills (020 8971 8111). The place: another commuter favourite (50 minutes by train to Liverpool Street), close to the lovely Stour and Colne estuaries, perfect Swallows and Amazons country. “We used to have the dealers from Canary Wharf moving out to buy, but now it is the professionals,” says Schuyler Pratt of JacksonStops & Staff. “If their children are bright enough they don’t want to pay for education unless they have to. Everyone wants the best for their child.” The schools: Colchester Royal Grammar (boys, mixed in sixth); Colchester County High School for Girls. House for sale: period five-bedroom Grade II listed house in Lexden Road conservation area, with walled garden, at £895,000, Jackson-Stops & Staff (01245 467468) and Fenn Wright Signature (01206 507607). The place: “Schools are the main reason for moving here, together with the good commute into