Grammar schools attract home movers as credit crunch bites

Locations which boast some of the nation’s top performing grammar schools are proving increasingly popular with home movers, as the economic uncertainty forces parents to seek alternatives to private school, according to data from Moveme.com.

A grammar school education scores Essex top marks
Six of the ten top performing grammar schools in the UK (ranked by A-Level performance) have made it into the Moveme.com top ten destinations. Colchester and Chelmsford in Essex have experienced an influx of movers now looking to secure a home in the county.

Colchester and Chelmsford, home to four of the UK’s top ten performing grammar schools and within a 50 minute train journey from London, are proving attractive to families looking to re-locate close to where they hope to send their children to school, while still remaining within commuting distance from the capital.

Jonathan Turpin, Chief Executive of Moveme.com, commented: “As murmurs of a recession causes families to look at their finances, school fees are increasingly coming under review. As a result, a number of parents previously planning to educate their children privately are now looking to the nation’s grammar schools as an attractive option.

“While living within close proximity to your preferred grammar school will not influence the chances of your child securing a place there, an increasing number of parents appear to be hedging their bets – looking to secure themselves a family home in a location which is situated within a convenient distance of their desired school. As a result, areas such as Chelmsford and Colchester, which boast a number of leading grammar schools, are experiencing an influx of families looking to secure a home here.”

Harrogate bucks the trend for northern towns
Harrogate has bucked the trend for the north, proving the only northern town to feature in the top five most popular locations with today’s movers. Its picturesque setting and proximity to the Yorkshire Dales makes it a popular tourist location, while remaining a sought after destination for home movers.

City fall out drives movers away from the capital
The fall out in the money markets has seen London remain in the bottom half of the table, as movers continue to move away from London’s central locations.

Turpin, adds: “With redundancies on a mass scale, the city has experienced the biggest exodus of movers as workers offload city centre pads or look to escape extortionate rents, which they can no-longer afford to pay.”

Northern towns fall out of favour
Halifax and Oldham proved some of the least popular destinations with movers in quarter three of 2008, while both reporting higher than average crime rates and rising unemployment figures.

Turpin, adds: “The last quarter has not brought good news for residents in both Halifax and Oldham, and as a result, both areas have seen an exodus as movers look to areas which offer better prospects and a better quality of life.

“With higher than average crime rates and unemployment levels exceeding that of the UK average, it’s no surprise that movers are shunning these areas in favour of more prosperous alternatives.”