70,000 will move home in hunt for good school

More than 70,000 people will move home this year to ensure their children can go to good schools, according to research published today.

More than 70,000 people will move home this year to ensure their children can go to good schools, according to research published today.

About 4 per cent of people who have moved or are planning to move during the April to September period said they were doing so to ensure they lived in the right catchment area. This compared with 3 per cent of people who wanted to move to a property with a garden and a similar proportion who wanted to move from the city to the country.

The main reason people gave for moving was the need for more space, with 23 per cent moving to a bigger house, while 13 per cent of people were moving to a smaller house.

Parents in the Midlands were most likely to be planning a move to make sure they got their child into a good school, with 6 per cent buying a new home for this reason, compared with 4 per cent in the South and 1 per cent in the north of England and Scotland.

The research for Sainsbury's Bank found that people were prepared to pay a premium of up to 10 per cent for a property in the catchment area of a good school.

Robert O'May, a spokesman for Sainsbury's Bank, said: "Our findings underline parents' determination to secure a good school for their children, even to the point of moving house to ensure they live within a desirable catchment area."