Pull of top schools still high for Yorkshire's families

Some 28 per cent of families with children of a school age in the region have either bought or rented a new property in order to have an address within their preferred school catchment area, according to Santander Mortgages.

This is a higher rate than the national average of 26 per cent and above that of many regions nationwide but a long way short of the rate in London.

The Yorkshire Post revealed this week that parents in the region were being warned about using false addresses to get their children into popular schools as figures reveal dozens of investigations led to people losing out on places in Yorkshire.

Figures obtained from councils across the region show that 25 places have been withdrawn or applications blocked as a result of fraudulent information being provided to local councils.

Town hall leaders say that although this represents a small percentage of the parents applying there are regularly people willing to cheat the system in an attempt to get into popular schools.

The Yorkshire Post asked education authorities under the Freedom of Information Act how many investigations into alleged school admission fraud they had carried out in 2014 and 2015. Figures reveal more than 70 investigations have been carried out in the space of two years.

The Santander Mortgages study, published today, also found that parents nationwide would typically be prepared to spend an 11 per cent premium, equating to £23,707 based on average house prices, to be near the school they want their child to attend.

Parents in the capital were the most likely to have moved in order to secure an address in their preferred school catchment area, with 46 per cent of parents with children aged between eight and 18 years old in this area saying they had done so.

Those in the East Midlands were the least likely, with just 11 per cent having done so. Nearly a quarter of families in Scotland, 17 per cent in Wales and 15 per cent in Northern Ireland had moved to be near their desired school, the research found.

Santander found that as well as having to fork out more money for a house, 17 per cent of parents who had moved to be in a sought-after catchment area had also changed jobs as a result. A fifth ended up in a smaller property than the one they lived in before and 21 per cent had moved away from family and friends.

Miguel Sard, managing director of mortgages at Santander, said: “With competition for school places remaining high, parents are making significant financial and lifestyle sacrifices to be within the catchment area of desirable schools. Living within a certain school catchment area is a priority for many families but these premium addresses can come with a hefty price tag.”

More than 4,000 people from across the UK took part in the survey.