Ringing school bells across the country signal the start of another academic year. For many parents, when planning on purchasing or renting a property, living near to a good school is one of the most important factors.

For over 25 years, we have been advising and talking to parents about possibly two of the most important decisions they have to make in their lives – their children’s education and buying or renting property.

One of the most important issues when choosing a school is the distance and the time it takes to commute between home and school. Dependent upon the ages of the children, pick up times at the end of their school day can vary enormously, so people quickly realise that living close to and ideally within walking distance of a school has its major benefits.                                            

There is clear factual evidence that there is a higher demand for family houses close to both private and good performing state schools. With demand for school places; particularly state schools with a proven track record of success, combined with the strict catchment areas, waiting lists have become a common occurrence at popular schools.  As a consequence, prices to buy and rent are directly influenced as well as property shortages some villages and towns.

This is not just in an isolated or regional area or a north-south divide; this is a national trend and a problem for parents that is likely to continue.

The high proportion of our clients come to us on recommendation or as a referral from within the UK, in particular those in London wanting to live in the South-East. With the British education system being so desirable around the world, we also have international families coming from India, the United States, Sweden and other Nordic countries.

We have always offered impartial professional advice about property and have become recognised as a leading independent property consultancy. However, having a good practical knowledge of how the education system operates has become an essential part of our role when advising clients about areas to live, particularly if they need to choose the right school for their children.

For further information about education issues, finding your next property close to or within walking distance of a chosen school or simply to discuss your property search requirements, please contact Premier Property Search on +44 (0) 1962 793100 or email: enquiries@premier-propertysearch.co.uk