New research from property firm Savills has revealed that five south London neighbourhoods – Richmond Park, Sutton and Cheam, Twickenham, Wimbledon and Orpington – have been named as some of the best areas to live with access to top performing state primary and secondary schools.
Richmond Park has taken the top spot nationally, ranked in first place for both primary Key Stage 2 and secondary Key Stage 4 performance.
It leads a list dominated by London and the South East, which account for 68 per cent of constituencies in the top 20 per cent for school performance.
The list of neighbourhoods was put together based on an analysis of parliamentary constituencies across England, assessing both academic outcomes and the likelihood of gaining a place at high performing schools without also falling within the catchment of lower performing ones.
Here are all the south London neighbourhoods that made the list:
Richmond Park
- KS2 rank: 1
- KS4 rank: 1
- Average house price: £1,016,265 (51 per cent above regional average)
Sutton and Cheam
- KS2 rank: 2
- KS4 rank: 9
- Average house price: £518,988 (23 per cent below regional average)
Twickenham
- KS2 rank: 6
- KS4 rank: 19
- Average house price: £754,501 (12 per cent above regional average)
Wimbledon
- KS2 rank: 35
- KS4 rank: 25
- Average house price: £891,022 (33 per cent above regional average)
Orpington
- KS2 rank: 32
- KS4 rank: 32
- Average house price: £546,058 (19 per cent below regional average)
London dominated the list, with areas such as Hackney South and Shoreditch, Finchley and Golders Green and Ilford South also ranking in the top 20.
The research shows that access to top-tier state education carries a significant house price premium.
Homes located in the highest performing 10 per cent of constituencies cost an average of £695,018, around 28 per cent above the regional average.
Average house prices by school performance ranking:
- Top 10 per cent: £695,018 (28 per cent above regional average)
- 10 to 20 per cent: £484,811 (13 per cent above)
- 20 to 30 per cent: £423,640 (15 per cent above)
- 30 to 40 per cent: £349,904 (1 per cent above)
- 40 to 50 per cent: £335,027 (1 per cent above)
- 50 to 60 per cent: £307,873 (3 per cent below)
- 60 to 70 per cent: £255,955 (12 per cent below)
- 70 to 80 per cent: £284,446 (7 per cent below)
- 80 to 90 per cent: £261,639 (12 per cent below)
- Bottom 10 per cent: £240,485 (22 per cent below)
Head of residential research at Savills, Lucian Cook, said: “There is a well established link between house prices and access to high performing schools.
“Families often judge the desirability of an area by the reputation of its schools and are willing to pay more to live in the associated catchment areas.
“This is likely to become more pronounced with the rise of private school fees.
“There is likely to be a steady rise in families looking to access the best state schools over time, putting further pressure on surrounding home values.”
