The cost of living near London’s 342 ‘outstanding’ primary schools

Portico’s latest research reveals exactly how much more you’re likely to spend on a home near top-rated schools.

The report shows that there are 342 state-funded primary schools rated as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted in London. This means that the capital has the highest number of top-rated primary schools out of all the regions in the UK.

The top boroughs in London for choice of ‘outstanding’ state-funded primary schools include:

• Barnet (24 ‘outstanding’ schools)

• Lambeth (22)

• Richmond upon Thames (20)

• Wandsworth (17)

• Hackney (17)

• Lewisham (16)

House prices across London’s outstanding schools compared

Portico has also analysed the property prices of areas surrounding all 342 ‘outstanding’ primary schools in the 32 London boroughs:

• Barking and Dagenham in east London offers the best value for money, with average property prices at £307,463. There are three ‘outstanding’ primary schools in the borough.

• Kensington and Chelsea ranks as the most expensive borough, with an average property price of £1,739,268. There are fourteen ‘outstanding’ primary schools in this borough.

Portico London estate agents table below shows the number of ‘outstanding’ state-funded primary schools per London borough, plus the average cost of living near an ‘outstanding’ school in the area:

Drilling down to specific schools and areas within the London boroughs

Portico has also looked at individual ‘outstanding’ schools to find the best local bargains. The results show: 

• The winner is Hounslow in Greater London, which is home to ‘outstanding’ Edward Pauling Primary school. The average price of a house here is just £233,615.

• A close second was Beavers Community Primary School in Hounslow, which has an average price-tag of £247,571.

• Third was St Stephen’s Catholic Primary School in Bexley, where the average property price is £269,453.

On the other end of the scale, London’s most expensive catchments ranked as:

1. Westminster’s St Peters Eaton Square Corn Primary School on Lower Belgrave Street – £3,184,794.

2. Kensington and Chelsea’s Christ Church CofE Primary School on Robinson St, Chelsea – £2,589,755.

3. Camden’s Primrose Hill School on Princess Rd in Primrose Hill – £2,573,738.

Fiona Veitch, Portico’s Marketing Director, says: “Each year, parents across the nation fight to get their children into the right school, and we see many families moving purely to be in the catchment area of a specific school.

“According to our research, the average property price of a London home in the neighbouring area of an ‘outstanding’ state-funded primary school costs £693,849. Compared to the average London property price of £618,587, this means parents will pay a huge premium of £75,262 to give their kids the best start in life.

“Living near a state-funded primary school with an Ofsted ‘needs improvement’ rating costs even less. In fact, the average property price near a school that ‘needs improvement’ costs £540,638 – which is over 22% cheaper, or over £150,000, less than an ‘outstanding’ school area.

“Despite there being such a strong correlation between house prices and top-rated schools, we hope our research will help the parents who are looking to move to an ‘affordable’ area near a top-rated school see what options are available to them.”

Portico’s table below shows the top 20 most affordable areas surrounding London’s ‘outstanding’ primary schools: