Catchment / House purchase dilemma

[MrsMoneypenny78]

We're in Harrogate looking at purchasing a house in Burn Bridge but aren't sure if we'd get our daughter into Harrogate Grammar School due to their small catchment area.

We currently live adjacent to the Grammar school but the house isn't big enough so we're considering moving further out of town to get a garden etc but this would mean giving up a pretty much guaranteed place at the school.

Does anyone have any advice if you've lived in Pannal / Burn Bridge and applied for secondary school places from there?

Any advice gratefully received!

Thanks

live in Harrogate. you need to look at NYCC catchment for secondary schools. Burnbridge and pannal are both in 'urban area' for HGS - if you live there, very unlikely to get in. Live just a bit further out - see the map - and you are classed as 'rural' and will qualify as closest rural pupils.

properties in rural catchment are likely to have a price premium ..............

Thanks wufti for the tips, I'll check out the NYCC website and have a closer look. I think on balance we've decided based on the catchment uncertainty not to go for the house now, which is a shame as it was perfect.

I know what you mean about the housing premium in Harrogate, it's crazy!

Thanks again

All the secondary schools in Harrogate are very good and getting in to any of them is not guaranteed even if you are counted as being in a rural area. The rules were changed a few years ago and could change again.

In short I wouldnt base my choice of house on trying to get into Harrogate grammar.

rules for HGS and other community schools are that a certain % (something like 27%, the figure will be somewhere on the NYCC schools site) allocated to rural, with the balance to urban (after statemented, looked after children etc) with distance being the deciding factor - so the closest urban children, the closest rural children. the urban catchment can be as low as 0.8 miles! don't really know how far out into the 'rural' catchment that % normally goes