Catchment if you can: A quarter of parents admit to flouting rules to get kids into a good school

Catchment if you can: A quarter of parents admit to flouting the rules to get their kids into a good school – with some even resorting to bribes.

Wednesday 12 January, 2022, London: With the primary school application deadline upon us (15th January), almost a quarter of parents (24%) admit to flouting school admissions criteria to get their child into their preferred local school, according to new research from Zoopla, the UK’s leading property destination.

Key points from research:

Parents are breaking school admissions criteria to avoid paying an average £82,960 premium on homes in a ‘good’ school catchment area
17% of parents say they lied, bent or broke admissions rules, while a further 7% say they ‘played the system’ in order to get their child into a good local school; this totals 24% flouting the rules
16% of those who admit to breaking rules say they made a ‘voluntary donation’ to the school while 5% admit they offered a bribe
Despite the prevalence of rule-breaking, over half of parents (56%) who’ve done so feel guilty about it
The research highlights the opportunity for agents to spotlight the catchment areas of local schools in their property listings and generate more interest as a result

Zoopla surveyed parents of school-age children to understand the lengths they go to in order to secure a place at the best schools and found that parents pay on average £82,960 more for a property in the catchment area of a high-performing school, and over £200,000 more in London.

White lies?

In total, 17% of parents of school-aged children admit they lied, bent or broke school application rules to get their children into their preferred school, while a further seven per cent say they ‘played the system’. This means one in four (24%) parents are going to extreme lengths to secure preferred school places for their kids.

But bending the rules can take many forms. Among the parents who have, controversially 27% admit to exaggerating their religious affiliation or pretending to be religious in order to get into a faith school.

Property porkies are also prevalent. Among those who broke the rules, over a fifth (21%) say they registered their child at a family member’s address that was closer to their preferred school, one in ten (10%) simply lied about their address, and eight per cent say they temporarily rented a second home (that the child never lived in) within the catchment area.

Money and school donations also play a key role. One in six parents (16%) who admit they bent the rules say they made a ‘voluntary donation’ to a particular school ahead of applying, while eight per cent confessed to offering a bribe.

The cost of a home in the right catchment area

Of course, many parents do not bend the rules – some are simply able to move into the catchment area of the school they want their children to go to. In total, 28% of parents who currently have school-aged children say they did this. However, the research found that there is a huge premium attached to doing so – which might be prohibitive to some. Among those who bought a home in a good catchment area, the average premium they paid was a huge £82,960 with the figure rising to £209,599 in London.

How do parents feel about the practice?

The majority of parents in the UK are against bending or breaking rules to get children into a good school – over half (55%) say they feel it is an ‘unfair practice which should be stopped’ – and over half (56%) who have done so, admit they feel guilty about it. A further 6% of parents admit they are so fed up with the practice that they have ‘grassed up’ another parent and reported them to the school. However, more than one in ten (11%) believe it is acceptable and a further 19% admit it isn’t fair but ‘everyone does it’.

Andy Marshall, Chief Commercial Officer at Zoopla, comments:

“Our latest research highlights just how much of a consideration school catchment areas are for property buyers, with many willing to pay a hefty premium to ensure their property is within the catchment area to get into their school of choice.

“This highlights the need for agents to not only highlight local schools and Ofsted ratings in their property listings to drive interest, but to also ensure they’re doing so during physical viewings with potential buyers.”

Oliver Blake, Managing Director of Your Move estate and lettings agents, commented:

“There’s always been high demand for properties in the catchment areas of good schools, and more so for primary schools where there’s often fewer places. We’ve seen premium prices of between 10% and 20% being paid.

“Other factors, however, such as the availability of local amenities, nurseries, and good transport links will also affect pricing as does the availability of local housing generally.

“A new housing development, for example, will often attract families and increase demand and competition further and actually lead to the catchment area shrinking; pushing prices and demand up even further.”

Kindly shared by Zoopla

Main photo courtesy of Pixabay