Schools and housebuying

ibizafan_2

Back in 1989, we moved to the neighbouring county just because it still has the grammar school system, as did many other people. It paid off, although that is a different topic. The point is that people are prepared to move house to get their children into a school or system of their choice. As we didn't know the town we moved to, we relied on estate agents to tell us which were the best junior schools. All these years later, these schools are still the best, but obviously reflect the pretty much middle class nature of the residents in those areas. We live in the catchment area of just about the most sought after infant school in the town, and estate agents who valued our house recently
told us that we would have no problem selling, because of the school.

Sammydog

We've no interest in the schools near our (hopefully!) new house but the family buying our current house did so purely because it was the only thing they could afford in the area for a particularly good school.

Paully232000

MoneySavingUser wrote: »

Rightmove has a section in each advert which shows the local schools.

I don't have any children so haven't paid attention to it in the past. However I have had a look at a few lately and the local schools in some of the areas I have looked seem to have quite poor ratings.

I would be interested in hearing some opinions:

How much attention do you pay to the local schools when looking at a property?

Have you ever bought a house in a specific area because of the schools there?

Have you passed on a larger/cheaper house to buy one where the schools are better?

Have you moved house specifically so that your children can go to better schools?

Any other comments about schools and housebuying?

We specifically looked for houses in good school catchment areas when we moved 18 months ago. We had an area of search and a size of property we wanted in mind so we wouldn't have to move again.

roje

Go and look at the schools yourself is my advice. I would never go by Ofsted reports alone. I'm a teacher.

gingergee

The sibling rule is changing in a few schools from September and gradually going altogether. That will cause mayhem if people with more than one child has them in different schools. Xx

smallholdingsister

The rightmove schoolchecker is desperately inaccurate (at least in my area) so don't rely on it.

ViolaLass

jjlandlord wrote: »

Anyone who has been trying to find a school knows that 'good' means average at best and thus that it needs checking further.

Simply untrue and unfair to some schools being judged 'good'. Brilliant results alone will not get you an 'outstanding', for example.

jackyann

ibizafan wrote: »

Back in 1989, we moved to the neighbouring county just because it still has the grammar school system, as did many other people. It paid off, although that is a different topic. The point is that people are prepared to move house to get their children into a school or system of their choice. As we didn't know the town we moved to, we relied on estate agents to tell us which were the best junior schools. All these years later, these schools are still the best, but obviously reflect the pretty much middle class nature of the residents in those areas. We live in the catchment area of just about the most sought after infant school in the town, and estate agents who valued our house recently
told us that we would have no problem selling, because of the school.

Not sure where you actually are, and glad it "paid off" for you (whatever that means)
I used to live in an education authority that was truly comprehensive and bordered an authority with grammar schools. We were constantly surprised (if not amused) by the number of parents across the border who would suddenly decide that their little darling was much more suited to the comprehensive system than the grammar.

I was similarly surprised recently by an announcement from an infant school that, owing to building work, places had been reserved in a nearby car park for parents at drop-off / pick-up times. Very thoughtful - except that according to the information on their website, the furthest-away pupil is only 190 metres from the school (small school in a densely populated area)

Valli

There is an area in my town, the catchment area for a certain secondary, where house prices are slightly boosted if they are in that catchment; and the catchment location features in EA blurbs!

Mummyisbeauty

gingergee wrote: »

The sibling rule is changing in a few schools from September and gradually going altogether. That will cause mayhem if people with more than one child has them in different schools. Xx

I suppose at least that stops a sibling from multiple miles away getting a place whereas someone living next door not getting a place which is what happened this year to a school in my borough with 90 place intake.