Parents paying school '˜catchment area inflation'

Parents determined to get their child into the catchment area for Boroughmuir High school in Edinburgh, one of Scotland's leading state schools, need to pay £121,952 '“ a premium of 50 per cent '“ more than they would for properties in surrounding areas, research released today reveals.

A Bank of Scotland report examining house prices near Scotland’s top 20 performing state secondary schools also shows parents need to shell out an average premium of around £41,000 for the “right” area.

Homes near Cults Academy in Aberdeen have the highest premium of £102,497 which is 52 per cent higher than average house prices in neighbouring parts of the city

However, people buying near Boroughmuir High School pay the most, with an average house price of £365,804. The school’s famous alumni include Sarah Smith, host of BBC political programme Sunday Politics, actress Pollyanna McIntosh who starred in the film adaption of Irvine Welsh’s novel Filth, Christine Grahame, SNP MSP, and Famous Five footballer Lawrie Reilly who played for Hibs and Scotland.

The analysis, looking at house prices near the top 20 state schools, shows the average cost is £231,476.

Also in the top five for premiums are Bearsden Academy and Boclair Academy, both in East Dunbartonshire (31 per cent), and Douglas Academy, also East Dunbartonshire (19 per cent).

Graham Blair, the bank’s mortgages director, said while property in some of the catchment areas was expensive, in some ares prices were lower.

“In areas such as Edinburgh and Aberdeen, the price tag for a house close to the best state schools is unsurprisingly large.

“However, in other areas, particularly East Renfrewshire, this doesn’t appear to be the case with three of the top five schools being reasonably affordable, or even cheaper than houses in the surrounding areas.”

Iain Gray MSP, Scottish Labour’s education spokesman, said pupils were being subjected to a “postcode lottery”.

“The SNP will not even begin to address this until they are prepared to use the powers of the Scottish Parliament, instead of simply passing on Tory austerity to Scotland.”

Scottish Conservative shadow education secretary Liz Smith MSP said: “This is a premium that, in some cases, is more than what families would pay for independent school fees.”

An Educational Institute of Scotland union spokesman said “catchment area inflation” was not a new phenomenon.

“Important factors in attainment levels are parental engagement with the school and the level of resources available to the school.”