Parents who want their children to go to one of the best state schools had better get their skates on if they don’t already live within the catchment areas.
Tens of thousands of parents are looking to send their children to state school following Labour’s plan to start charging VAT on private school fees. The additional charge will be introduced in January next year, the Chancellor confirmed yesterday.
Parents who can no longer afford the fees at one of the UK’s 2,500 private schools may be looking to the top state secondary schools as an alternative. These each have their own entry criteria, which may include academic ability or proximity to the school.
Applications for secondary school places for the following school year must typically be made to the local authority by October 31 and parents generally need to supply proof of their child’s permanent address when applying.
So hopefuls wanting to switch their child from a private school to a top secondary school before the 20 per cent tax is introduced in 2025 have just three months until the final deadline for applications. Parents would be hard pressed to find and buy a home in the catchment area in time as well as sell their existing home.
This table shows the top 50 state schools in England and how long it takes to buy a house in the catchment area
But those wanting to make the move for the 2026 school year can do so over the next year.
Some schools require a pupil to have lived at their address for a certain length of time to be classed as a resident in the catchment area, while some schools use the child’s address at the time of applying for or sitting an entrance exam.
Parents should check the deadline for moving to a catchment area with their desired school.
Time is running out for parents who want to find a home in the right catchment area
Here, with data from quick sale website Upstix, we break down how long parents need to leave to search for their dream home in one of the desirable areas surrounding England’s top state schools.
These are based on data from homes that share the first half of the schools’ postcodes. Note that this is just a broad estimate, as catchment areas vary from school to school and may be bigger or smaller than its postcode area.
Hopefuls for Reading School – fourth on the School Guide top 50 secondary schools in England ranking – need to start looking for a home around 190 days before any deadline, according to Upstix data, as that’s how long it takes for homes to go from being listed to selling.
Parents who want a place for their child at the Tiffin Girls’ School should also be looking to move at a similar time. Homes in the school’s Kingston-upon-Thames postcode have 192 days between the day it is listed to the day it’s sold.
Homes in the Tiffin Girls’ School’s Kingston-upon-Thames outcode have 192 days between the day it is listed to sold
The school – fifth on the School Guide list – says since it introduced a catchment area ten years ago, all of its places have been offered to pupils living inside it.
It takes 195 days for homes to go from being listed to sold in the Newstead Wood School outcode in Kent and 173 days for homes in The Latymer School outcode in North London.
Homes in the outcode for Altrincham Grammar School for Girls take 169 days and it’s 175 days for houses near Newport Girls’ High School Academy, Shropshire.
Homes in the outcode for Altrincham Grammar School for Girls take 169 days to sell
Parents who want their children to attend Dame Alice Owen’s School should be looking around 215 days before they want to move to the catchment area as that’s how long it takes for homes in the Hertfordshire postcode to go from listed to sold, Upstix data shows.
Not all state schools have catchment areas and admissions could instead be based on entrance test results. Look at the admissions criteria of your desired school before making any housing decisions.
Even if a school does have catchment area, living in one doesn’t guarantee a child’s place in a school. The school could be oversubscribed or prioritise applicants within the catchment area based on test scores or other criteria.
The school could have individual deadlines to apply for tests – with a requirement for addresses in a catchment area – which parents should research.
For example, Beaconsfield School in Buckinghamshire requires pupils to take an admission test – and it says September 1 is the cut-off date for the home address they’ll use for applications in their first round of allocations for the 2025 intake.
Parents looking to get their children into The Latymer School in North London need to start home-hunting 173 days before any deadline
It takes homes in the school’s postcode some 216 days to go from being listed to selling – the longest in the School Guide’s top 50 list – so parents would need to take this into account to meet that September 1 deadline (assuming it’s the same next year).
The school could also say that the pupil needs to have lived at a home in the catchment area for a certain length of time to be valid. For example, Dr Challoner’s Grammar School says pupils for the September 2025 intake need to have lived in the home since April 2024.
Parents need to account 173 days to look at listings and buy a home in the postcode of the Amersham school, which is number 13 on the School Guide’s list.
Fred Jones, of Upstix, says: ‘It is no secret that the UK home buying and selling process can be incredibly stressful – but it is even more so when you have a school application deadline to meet.
‘Our research shows that selling a house takes more than six months on average, and there can be over a month’s difference in property selling times depending on which school catchment area you are trying to get into.
‘Homes in some of the catchment areas of great schools can be snapped up quickly, and with Labour’s changes to VAT on private school fees we’re likely to see ever greater demand in the coming months.’ Parents moving to these desirable catchment areas will also need to think about how long it will take to sell their home.
Fred Jones of Upstix advises pricing your home competitively in order to get a quick sale
‘For families with an existing property to sell, there’s a risk selling their home could hold up the process, which is lengthy, complex, and costly,’ Mr Jones says.
Mr Jones advises sellers to target cash buyers or chain-free buyers as these are more likely to result in a quick sale.
He also says: ‘Overvaluing your property will deter prospective buyers, meaning your property will sit on the market longer which can impact its value. Look at similar properties in your area and price yours competitively.
‘You could consider pricing your property just below stamp duty thresholds to save buyers money on taxes.’
Are you planning to move to the catchment area of a top state school? Email l.evans@dailymail.co.uk
