Parents pay half a million in housing premium for state school education

Poorer children are being priced out of the best state schools because wealthier parents are paying a property ‘premium’ of up to half a million pounds for houses in school catchment areas.

While state education is supposed to be free and equally accessible to all, new research by Lloyds Bank highlights how people buy their way into certain areas in a bid to get their children into the most sought-after schools.

Parents pay an average of £21,000 extra compared to average property prices in neighbouring areas, if they want to live in the same postcode as a top 30 state secondary school in England, the report found.

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Conor Ryan, director of research at education charity the Sutton Trust, said: “This research confirms that access to the best state schools is too often linked to family income … where comprehensive schools prioritise proximity in admissions, they close off access to many who can’t afford the high house prices.”

He called on schools to adopt “fairer admissions policies” and consider “random allocation”, giving priority to pupils from poorer families, as part of their admissions policy.

Read the full report here