Leading state school education costs £41,441, report reveals
Boroughmuir High School - jambox998
Parents are paying a premium of £41,441 on properties near Scotland’s 20 best performing state schools, according to a report by the Bank of Scotland.
Scotland’s comprehensive education system is designed to give pupils an equal experience, but the analysis by the bank’s mortgage division reveals polarising house prices has led to unequal catchment areas.
Schools in more affluent areas also benefit from greater parent engagement and resources.
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On average house buyers are paying a premium of £41,441, or 22 per cent when compared to houses in surrounding areas where the average price is £190,035, according to the report.
Boroughmuir High School in Edinburgh, which often tops lists for results, has an average house price of £365,804 which is 50 per cent more expensive than the surrounding area.
Graham Blair, mortgages director at Bank of Scotland, said: “When buying a home, parents understandably want their children to be close to a top performing school. In areas such as Edinburgh and Aberdeen, the price tag for a house close to the best state schools is unsurprisingly large.
“However, in other areas, particularly East Renfrewshire, this doesn’t appear to be the case with three of the top five schools being reasonably affordable, or even cheaper than houses in the surrounding area.”
Scottish Labour’s education spokesperson Iain Gray said Scottish Government plans to publish the results of standardised testing would exacerbate the inequality.
“It is not that surprising, but this report does lay bare one of the aspects of educational inequality in Scotland,” he said.
“After a decade of SNP government, the poorest kids in Scotland still have far less opportunity and life chances than those lucky enough to born into the right postcode
Private schools, which take pupils from any address, cost an average of around £15,000 a year.
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