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Original poster

Do people REALLY move house to get into a good school?

281 replies

Ijustwanttoretire · 28/08/2019 09:23

Apparently 'The average house value in England is £247,000 but parents face taking on loans of up to £180,000 more to live near a top-rated school.' Really? Does your average family move house to get into a better senior school? £180000 would buy a decent house where I live, let alone paying that much extra to get into a good catchment area. So how many MNers have ACTUALLY done this?

OP posts:
merrymouse · 28/08/2019 18:32

Really? Does your average family move house to get into a better senior school?

Absolutely, however, I think in many cases it's less that people move to go to a better senior school and more that they rule out areas with schools that aren't seen as desirable. There are also pockets where a child would be at the bottom of the list for all schools - e.g. if you live near a church school you may be excluded because of religion, but also be outside the normal catchment area for the nearest secular school.

Walnutwhipster · 28/08/2019 18:35

We didn't move but bought our home intentionally in the catchment area for a fantastic primart and secondary school. DS1 is 23 now and has no children (probably won't for years) but when he bought his house recently he made sure it was also in the same catchment a) for future children and b) he knows it will sell quickly if he decides to move.

CurlyMango · 28/08/2019 18:46

Yup, we did. Worked out fee paying and worked out moving and was better.

pumkinspicetime · 28/08/2019 18:50

Also a house in a good catchment area will retain its value. If you pay for schooling you have that but nothing more.

Phineyj · 28/08/2019 18:53

Yeah, I did that spreadsheet, Mango and moving came out ahead, but break even was year 5. However, as we pay school fees termly but the costs of moving are upfront, plus equity (if any) is long term, it's quite a complicated calculation to make.

On balance I would prefer the Scottish system I think. At least you'd know well ahead of time if you were in or out.

Phineyj · 28/08/2019 18:55

Oh and the other factor with private was guaranteed wraparound. It seemed to be almost impossible to be sure what wraparound the state schools would offer when it was so uncertain which one would be offered. As DH and I have very inflexible jobs (in teaching!) that was the decider for us.

Purpleartichoke · 28/08/2019 19:02

School catchment was the primary consideration when we bought our home. If I were making a list of things I want in a house it would look something like

School
School
School
School
School
School
School
Number of bedrooms
Number of bathrooms
...

PickAChew · 28/08/2019 19:02

You just have to look at the variation in house prices in Durham City and the speed at which even the grottier and poker houses in a particular catchment shift to see what a difference a school makes to house prices.

pontiouspilates · 28/08/2019 19:06

Yes, several families I know have done this. It's factored in just as other things like proximity to tube/train station that you would expect to pay more for.

NisekoWhistler · 28/08/2019 19:06

Yes we have, we are now in the middle of three ofsted outstanding schools and on the waiting list at a private school. We went on the private school waiting list before finding our house

LizB62A · 28/08/2019 19:09

Yes

You're welcome.

Kolo · 28/08/2019 19:10

I chose where I wanted to live based on the secondary school, so yes. We were moving anyway, and my eldest was only 1. I was a teacher, with quite a lot of experience of many of the schools in the county, and I chose the town I live in now mainly because of the excellent school.

We’ve lived here 10 years now and I don’t see us leaving. We haven’t moved in and then out as soon as we got a place. We just decided to make our life here.

thecatinthetwat · 28/08/2019 19:17

I also know someone who rented out their own house and rented a different house just to get into a better primary school.

Me too! The clever way to do it Wink

I would definitely move to be nearer a good school, if I could afford it. A good reason to move, surely?

newtb · 28/08/2019 19:20

Around South Manchester people move to get in to Altrincham grammar, and when they built a new estate on a former cattery the number of houses (it was a former market garden) meant places like Knutsford were no longer in the catchment area.

About 20 years ago, there was a £100,000 difference in prices and the second runway didn't help either.

CherryPavlova · 28/08/2019 19:25

There were children at our children’s school who just bought a little flat in catchment.

treeplop · 28/08/2019 19:30

It's always been a big factor for us, but it just so happens that we found one in catchment for my preferred school, that also ticked all the other boxes. Secondary school was more of a concern than primary as all our local ones are outstanding.

HerRoyalNotness · 28/08/2019 19:43

People move into our area as the zoned high school is well known for their football (American) program. Which suits us as we want to move to a zone which is more academic focused. I doubt we will be able to though, with closing costs it will be affordable.

I’ve heard other families here move from a good school district into a rubbish one as their kids who might be average in a good zone, can be outstanding in comparison in a worse one which helps them with college entrance and scholarships. Who could be bothered really!?

caroloro · 28/08/2019 19:47

I think most parents factor in choice of schools when they buy a house, so I doubt that there are many who suddenly realise "holy crap! I bought a house in the catchment area for a school I don't like" and then move.

A fair few parents round by me who lived on the edge/just over catchment for our very excellent comprehensive rented properties in town for a year or so to guarantee a place.

IceCreamAndCandyfloss · 28/08/2019 19:50

Of course they do. It’s obviously important to them.

We researched primary schools (and the secondaries they fed into) before committing to buying a property. No different than researching the area, local services etc. It’s a huge financial commitment so we wanted to go into it informed.

sportinguista · 28/08/2019 20:21

We're stuck, we couldn't afford to move when time for primary and ended up with the catchment school. We stuck it till year 3 then pulled him to home ed. We're leaving the country next year and he'll join a school in DH's home country. There would be no chance of a good school unless we paid serious money and we can't. I do enjoy HE but it's hard work and my business has taken a hit. I wish we could move as I spend time wishing the area would burn down.

LordProfFekkoThePenguinPhD · 28/08/2019 20:22

I know people who have - very wealthy so have the wherewithal to move to a nice house on the doorstep of a good state.

Blurb54 · 28/08/2019 20:25

We did for Primary. Then for Secondary, my teacher partner started working in an Outstanding school so our kids automatically get a place. We want the best possible education for our kids......

RoseMartha · 28/08/2019 20:32

I had some friends move to be in right catchment area for a school.

jesuschristwtf · 28/08/2019 20:34

i have a neighbour who is currently doing this, she's going from a hard a million apartment to well over 1.5 million for a house where the school is located.... i did say she would be better off getting a car but she wants to 'walk' to school. Grin

Mummadeeze · 28/08/2019 20:41

I moved 600 metres down the road to get into a good primary and have recently moved again to get into a good secondary school. We rent though so it was much easier. You really do need a strategy to get into a good school in my area. If we had stayed where we were we would have ended up with a really poor performing school miles away from where we lived.