Does a good school nearby add value to my house?

If you live near a sought-after school, you have probably wondered whether it shows up in your price. It usually does, and the amount depends on your exact address.

A school premium is the extra amount buyers pay for a home because of the schools its children could attend. It is measured by comparing prices in areas with strong schools against similar areas nearby.

How much more are homes near good schools worth?

Savills compared average GCSE results, measured by the Attainment 8 score over three years, with HM Land Registry prices across 543 parliamentary constituencies in England. Attainment 8 is the Department for Education's measure of how pupils perform across eight GCSE subjects.

Richmond Park ranked first for results, with an average price of £1,059,496. Outside London and its edges, Altrincham and Sale West, Wycombe, Chelmsford and Cambridge all made the top ten.

Is the school premium getting smaller?

Yes. Savills found the premium in the top 10% of areas has narrowed from 33% ten years ago to 29% today, because prices in those areas have grown more slowly.

Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, linked this to higher mortgage rates making it harder to buy in pricier areas. Many of the strongest schools are in London and the South East, where values have grown least in recent years.

A good school helps hold your price up. How much it adds depends on how close your home sits to the gate.

Does the premium apply to my street?

Not automatically. The Savills figures are averages across whole constituencies, and those areas also tend to be wealthier, so part of the gap reflects the area as well as the schools.

What buyers pay for is the realistic chance of a place. GOV.UK says admission criteria can favour children who live close to the school or already have a brother or sister there, and each school's criteria are set locally, so two homes a few streets apart can be valued very differently.

When do families with children look to move?

Around the school application round. For places starting in September 2027 in England, the national deadline for secondary school applications is 31 October 2026, with offers on 1 March 2027. Primary applications close on 15 January 2027, with offers on 16 April 2027.

Families often plan a move around these dates, so it is worth knowing them if a school is a big part of your home's appeal. Check your council's own admissions rules, because the address that counts and the evidence required vary.

How do I make the most of a nearby school when I sell?

1. Find the school's results on the government's school performance tables and its admission criteria on your council's website.
2. Check how far your home is from the school and how places were allocated in recent years, if the council publishes it.
3. Compare your price with homes that sold in the same part of the catchment, not with the wider town.
4. Give buyers the facts in your listing, such as walking distance, rather than promising a place you cannot guarantee.
5. Ask each valuing agent how much of your price they think comes from the school, and what evidence they base that on.

How do I find out what my home is worth with the school taken into account?

A national study cannot see which side of a catchment line your home sits on. A local agent who knows the school catchment and what sold there last month can.

ValuQ gives UK homeowners free, side-by-side property valuations from competing local estate agents. You describe your home once, compare every agent's figure and reasoning on one screen, and agents never get your details until you choose. It is free, always.

Common questions about schools and house prices