Member Article

Get moving if you want good school catchment

Families are being urged to get moving and plan for the looming school application deadlines for September 2016 entries if a new home is on the cards in order to secure a child’s place at a good school.

“Families should factor-in sufficient time to find, view, purchase and move to the family home within the catchment area for their chosen school,” says residential property specialist Alison Wacey, a Partner at law firm Lodders.

“There is nothing worse than finding your dream home in the right area, only to discover that you’ve missed the application deadline to secure a coveted place for your child.

“Allow time for the searches on a property purchase, as well as legal documentation including contracts,” she says, “and make provision for mortgage lenders which continue to take time processing applications.

“Always check the status of other vendors and purchases in the property chain, which could make or break a purchase, as well as potentially threaten the move to the school catchment in time for the applications deadline.”

Widely documented rising primary school populations are also contributing to the immense competition for homes as a shortage of places is imminent, especially at the best performing schools. “This does play a big role in any property search and purchase,” says Alison. “Local councils are reporting 130,000 primary school places will be needed by September 2017, and the savviest parents are thinking about school choice before their child is even born.”

Parents are also being warned to expect to pay a premium for homes in a desirable school catchment: “Properties in catchment areas of England’s thirty best state schools were on average £21,000 higher than the average house price in the county in which the school is based, according to recent research.

“Competition for homes near the best performing schools is high – with further research revealing that 10% of parents would be willing to pay in excess of £50,000 more for a property in a good school catchment, and that there’s an average 8% premium on the value of a home near a good school.”

Whilst the temptation is to focus on primary schools’ Ofsted ratings – that rank schools as ‘outstanding’, ‘good’, ‘satisfactory’, or ‘inadequate’ – people should also take local ‘feeder’ secondary school performance into account before deciding on the location for their home.

“Where possible, areas with good primary and secondary schools would be the best and safest choice,” says Alison, “and a search that reviews the year-on-year performance of schools in the chosen county or locality, will help focus a property search. Catchment areas can change from time to time, so also check these to be sure the chosen property still qualifies for the preferred school.”

As part of a purchase transaction, Lodders carries out a further Plan Search for clients. Alison explains: “Included in a Plan Search is detail of the schools in a 5000m radius of a property and each school’s academic results ranked by the percentage of children achieving Level 4 - the national expected standard of most 11 year olds – in maths, reading and grammar for primary state schools. For secondary schools, it also shows the percentage of 5-plus A* to C GCSEs, and 5-plus A* to G GCSEs.”

Applications for September 2016 secondary school places close on the 31st October 2015, and primary school places on or around the 15th January 2016. For more information: https://www.gov.uk/schools-admissions/applying

Lodders Solicitors LLP is an established and thriving law firm based in Stratford upon Avon, Henley in Arden and Cheltenham. The firm is recognised as a leading private client law firm, offering specialist advice to both private individuals and privately owned businesses, including its highly regarded work in the agricultural and real estate sectors. For more information: www.lodders.co.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Lodders Solicitors LLP .