Private school or pay high price for catchment area?

[Elz58]

wwyd - pay a higher house price to be in the catchment area for a great secondary, or buy a cheaper house and put the savings from the mortgage towards private school?

We’re relocating and buying the same house type inside an excellent catchment would be about £160k more expensive than outside it.

Private school fees outside the more expensive boarding schools are currently £15k in this area (Derbyshire), so £210k for both my kids’ secondary education (more if they add on VAT though).

We have a good HH income (although probably not enough to pay £30k per year without the mortgage savings), so we can cover the shortfall, plus our kids are little so we’d have years to save from the lower mortgage before the eldest starts year 7 in 6 years’ time.

we really don’t want to move again when the kids are starting secondary.

What am I missing / forgetting?

I wouldn't worry to much about Secondary catchments for 6 years time. So much could happen before then.

Chosr the best house for now. Build up savings if you can. Reevaluate in 4-5 years... it could well be the best catchment has shifted by then, or you've changed jobs, or Labours VAT bill has been enacted, or you need a specialist school...

Are you thinking of buying near the Ecclesbourne school? Which private schools are you thinking of, I have a very low opinion of one of the private schools. I knew a few people that worked there.

Yes, Ecclesbourne. We were thinking Derby High School. Denstone too but their fees are higher.

Which private school in Derby?

Hi OP I would 100% go for Ecclesbourne. At the end of the day you will have a lovely house which will always be worth a good sum of money. And your DC will be able to live in it and enjoy it. The school is great and unlikely ever to be anything else, with parents who are keen on their child's education and want them to do well.

I know a people who teach there and while they are not having an easy time, the recruitment is not anything like the issue it is in other schools.

Agree that you don't know what the next years will bring - but chances are that Derby High fees will have gone up and up. Will your salary have gone up too? And meanwhile your house in Duffield is worth even more if you do decide to move. As you can see I am a great believer in an asset over dead money, all day long. Also if you live locally, your DC can walk to school and walk to see their friends out of school. That's a benefit that is perhaps hard to imagine when they are very young. A friend whose DC went to Derby High spent 13 years driving there and back - almost two hours out of her day every day (tho of course you could choose to live local to the school)

I know some teachers at Derby High too and FWIW they rate it very highly (and I rate them!). I'd still go state tho.

Are your DC both girls? Derby High is mixed now but still a lot more girls than boys.

I really rate Ecclesbourne. I went there and had a great experience, I was a bit lost in the earlier years but the sixth form was excellent.

I’m just unsure now whether it’s riding on its past reputation. I think the local
estate agent is pushing prices higher than the market will take. I’m keeping a pretty close eye on the market and not many large family homes are going under offer in Duffield. They’re just sitting on the market for months. I’m just not sure it’s worth the huge premium anymore, I’d be surprised if there wasn’t an adjustment.

Two boys. Derby Grammar is another thought

That might well be true about the housing market. Tho a quick glance shows quite a few properties around £500k, three and four-bed detached. Not sure you'd find similar in a nice area of Derby for £340k tbh.

Your £210k for fees btw assumes no fee rises at all which is surely unlikely. I would have thought 5% annually would be a minimum figure to budget to, which means that in six years' time you would be looking at £19k at least. And then it would rise each year. I reckon you could be looking at easily £300k for two children from year 7 to 13, starting in six years' time.

Ecclesbourne riding on past reputation? I mean it's a local state comprehensive. It's a good one but it doesn't have manicured grounds or its own swimming pool, and I am sure there is challenging behaviour. For many years its students have achieved excellent results at GCSE and A level. There are lots of reasons for that, for sure.

From investment perspective, house within outstanding catchment is a wiser choice. You pay premium today, and can sell for more in the future. Once your children have finished schools, you can sell and buy a better house out of catchment.

Private school fee is consumption.

The above is based on the assumption that the schools are similar in terms of quality and experience.