Parents willing to pay £23,000 extra to live near top Shropshire school
Parents are willing to pay a housing premium of £23,000 to live in a town in Shropshire to help get their children into an all-girls school, it has been claimed.
The average house price in the area close to Newport Girls' High School is £210,979 - well above the Shropshire average of £187,548, according to a study for Lloyds Bank.
The study ranked the selective grammar school as creating the eighth highest housing premium in the country among state schools - with parents apparently willing to pay 12 per cent more than the county's average house price.
It came in alongside Wolverhampton Girls High School, which is said to have increased house prices in its area by £20,195 from £167,355 to £187,550 - also a rise of 12 per cent.
The data has been compiled using house price sales figures from the Land Registry and GCSE performance data from the Department for Education.
Newport Girls' High School in Wellington Road has academy status, and last week year 11 pupils were revealed to have achieved a new school record for GCSE results with 100 per cent achieving grades A* to C. More than 45 per cent of pupils achieved an A*.
The school's sixth form is also highly rated and many girls apply to study A levels there from other schools.
On average, the study found the typical house price next to one of the top 30 state schools is £268,098, which is eight per cent or £20,955 higher than property prices in surrounding neighbourhoods.
The study also found that half of England's top 30 state schools are in locations where the average property price is cheaper than those in neighbouring areas.
Nationally, families living in the postal district of Beaconsfield High School in Buckinghamshire were found to pay the largest premium to live there, with the average house price there standing at £796,909. This sum is more than £483,000 or 154 per cent higher than the typical property value in the county.
Properties situated close to Bishop Vesey's Grammar School in the West Midlands command the second highest premiums in percentage terms, when compared with average house prices in the surrounding county, being £131,656 or 79 per cent more expensive typically.
Marc Page, Lloyds Bank mortgages director, said: "There is strong competition for properties in areas where state schools are providing top quality education, often in locations with limited supply, which is supporting prices.
"Although property values can be significantly lower in neighbouring areas, many parents don't appear to be put off paying a premium to ensure their child has the best possible chance to attend their chosen school."
