The price of education: House prices near London’s ‘outstanding’ schools revealed

For many parents with young children, it’s important to keep a close eye on the Ofsted rankings. State schools rated as ‘outstanding’, the highest grade by Ofsted, are highly sought after, and homes near these schools usually come at a premium, especially in London.

Portico London estate agents’ latest research has revealed how much the premium is for living near primary schools in the capital that have been rated ‘outstanding’ and the boroughs and catchment areas with the most affordable and most expensive average property prices.

Parents pay a premium of £75k to live near an ‘outstanding’ school

The average property price in London near an ‘outstanding’ state primary school is £693,849. This is £150,000 more than it costs to live by a school that ‘needs improvement’ and £75,000 more than the average London house price.

Fiona Veitch, Marketing Director at Portico, states, “According to our research, the average property price of a London home in the neighbouring area of an ‘outstanding’ state-funded primary school costs £693,849. Compared to the average London property price of £618,587, this means parents will pay a huge premium of £75,262 to give their kids the best start in life.

“Living near a state-funded primary school with an Ofsted ‘needs improvement’ rating costs even less. In fact, the average property price near a school that ‘needs improvement’ costs £540,638 – which is over 22% cheaper, or over £150,000, less than an ‘outstanding’ school area.”

Portico reports that there are 342 ‘outstanding’ state primary schools in London. The capital is home to the highest number of top-rated schools out of all the regions in the UK. Within the capital, the north-London borough of Barnet boasts the most ‘outstanding’ schools with 24. Lambeth came in second with 22, Richmond upon Thames ranked third with 20, and Wandsworth and Hackney were joint fourth with 17.

The best value areas near ‘outstanding’ schools

Barking and Dagenham and Bexley both had the least number of ‘outstanding’ schools with three. However, when looking at the average property prices of the 32 London boroughs, Barking and Dagenham is home to the best value. The average property price within the borough is £307,463. This is less than half the average London house price of £618,587.

When looking at all 342 ‘outstanding’ schools, two schools in Hounslow made the top of the table in terms of best value. The catchment area of Edward Pauling Primary School has the lowest average house price of only £233,615. Living near Beavers Community Primary School in Hounslow is only slightly more expensive with an average price of £247,571.

St Stephen’s Catholic Primary School in Bexley, Cardwell Primary School in Greenwich, and Gifford Primary School in Ealing are the third, fourth, and fifth most affordable catchment areas with average prices ranging from £269,453 to £277,079.

The most expensive areas near ‘outstanding’ schools

On the other end of the spectrum, Kensington and Chelsea is the most expensive area on the list of boroughs with ‘outstanding’ primaries. The average house price comes to £1,739,269, which is nearly a million and a half more than in Barking and Dagenham – the most affordable borough with top-rated schools.

Additionally, the most expensive catchment area is Westminster’s St Peters Eaton Square Corn Primary School with the average price coming in at £3,184,794. Kensington and Chelsea’s Christ Church CofE Primary School comes in second with £2,589,755.

Camden’s Primrose Hill School has an average house price of £2,573,738 in its catchment area. However, Kingsgate Primary School, which is located in the same borough but in Kilburn, costs 77% less with an astonishingly lower average property price of £578,896.

Mind the borough price gap

Higher house prices are often found in areas close to ‘outstanding’ primary schools, but as this research reveals, the prices vary widely across London boroughs with top-rated schools. There are even massive gaps in house prices within boroughs, varying for specific catchment areas.

If you’re a parent looking for a house near an ‘outstanding’ primary school, the data shows there are more ‘affordable’ areas that even have lower prices than the average house price for London as a whole.

The marketing director at Portico adds, “Each year, parents across the nation fight to get their children into the right school, and we see many families moving purely to be in the catchment area of a specific school.

“Despite there being such a strong correlation between house prices and top-rated schools, we hope our research will help the parents who are looking to move to an ‘affordable’ area near a top-rated school see what options are available to them.”