UK houses near top state secondary schools cost £40,000 more, research reveals

Homes near Britain’s highest-performing state secondary schools can carry a price premium comparable with private-school fees, according to analysis by estate agent Yopa.

Properties in postcode districts that include one of the top 50 state secondary schools cost £415,791 on average. Across the wider local authorities containing those schools, the average was £375,217, creating a difference of £40,574, or roughly 11%.

That extra cost compares with an average private-school fee of £23,000 a year, although some schools charge less than £6,000. Over seven years of secondary education, the cheaper private-school fees could therefore approach the average additional cost of buying a home near a leading state school.

The figures vary considerably. Bishop Vesey’s grammar school in Sutton Coldfield recorded the largest premium, with homes in the B74 postcode averaging £509,964, compared with £234,150 across Birmingham. In London, properties near Henrietta Barnett school in NW11 cost 37% more than the average home in the surrounding Barnet borough, an additional £354,288.

The pattern has exceptions. In the postcode district containing Reading school and Kendrick school, the average property cost £276,870, below the wider Reading average of £361,243. Yopa chief executive Verona Frankish said school quality remains a major consideration for families deciding where to live. Separate research found premiums of up to 77% near some leading private schools in London, where Queen’s College, London, topped the table with average prices of £1.92 million in W1, compared with £854,198 across Westminster.

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For many homebuyers with children, the quality of local schools is one of the most important considerations when deciding where to live and, with the new school year approaching, education will be front of mind for many families considering their next move.