New research from an estate and letting agent has exposed which areas of England’s housing market are the best for schools.
Today, new data was published by Barrows and Forrester, a multi-award winning, independent lettings and estate agent, which outlines the best areas in the country for parents to buy a house in if they want to send their children to top-rated schools.
To conduct their research, the Birmingham-based organisation calculated how many Ofsted-rated Good or Outstanding schools there are per 100,000 homes in England. Following this, the results found 18,099 schools in the country were graded Good or Outstanding during 2021-22 Ofsted inspections.
Against this backdrop, with 25.2 million residential dwellings in England, this means there are 72 Good or Outstanding schools for every 100,000 homes.
Regional analysis found with 3.4 million homes and 2,770 Good or Outstanding schools, the North West provides the strongest ratio for hopeful parents with 82 top-rated schools per 100,000 homes.
Behind the North West, the East Midlands were discovered to have 75 top-rated schools and the West Midlands were revealed to have 73, however this number was tied with the East of England.
On a less positive note, the regions where parents will have the hardest task getting their kids into highly-rated schools are London (64), the North East (67) and the South West (69).
‘This data demonstrates the challenge parents face when finding a home within the catchment area of a Good or Outstanding School, not to mention the fact they will probably face a hefty price premium if they are able to secure such a home,’ James Forrester, managing director of Barrows and Forrester, said. ‘We would recommend that parents who are keen to secure a place at a top-rated school start the home buying process as early as possible to avoid disappointment.’
James added: ‘Making the move less than a year before your kids are due to start at the school is simply too risky. You should be planning years ahead because the market churn in these locations is likely to be low which means buying opportunities are few and far between.’
News of this research being published has come as schools in England are facing a difficult time. Last week it was exposed that a vast amount of educational establishments across the UK were unable to re-open in time for children going back this month as they were constructed using unstable concrete, putting children’s safety at risk.
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