Good school can add 70% to house value

Living near a good school can boost the value of your home by as much as 70 per cent.

They consider that paying over the odds for a property is a better investment than sending their children to private schools. Estate agent Philip Castle said:

"The alternative is to pay £10,000 a year for school fees. But it is more cost-effective to put that money into property because you will get it all back when you sell."

Our researchers selected a string of London's highest achieving primary and secondary schools.

They found examples of the lengths to which some families have gone including:

The survey highlights the patchy performance of London's state education system, with too many schools suffering from poor results and discipline problems.

London schools minister Stephen Twigg admitted last month that bad behaviour was the biggest challenge for teachers in the capital. Tory London spokesman Mark Field said: "The people who lose out under the current system are, as ever, brightest children from less well-off homes whose parents can't afford to [move] to the right street."

The Department of Education pointed out that deprived inner-London boroughs had shown some of the biggest improvements in this year's GCSE results.

In Hackney, Lauriston Primary is heavily over-subscribed with a catchment area of a few hundred yards.

Mr Castle, of Sovereign Homes, said: "It is a very good school, in an area with not so many good schools.

"Two years ago the premium was probably £70,000 but now it's £100,000 for a three-bedroom house."

The picture can be confused because good schools are often in desirable areas, like Orleans Primary in St Margaret's, Twickenham.

Even private schools without catchment areas can boost prices. The American School in St John's Wood has kept the market going in the £1million-plus price range, as has the Lycé¥ in South Kensington.