The latest research from estate and lettings agent, Barrows and Forrester, reveals which areas of England’s housing market are best for parents to buy in if they want to get their children into a top-rated school.

To identify where parents have the best chance of securing their kids a place at a top-rated school, Barrows and Forrester has calculated how many Ofsted-rated Good or Outstanding schools there are per 100,000 homes in England, and in which areas of the country this number is at its highest.

The data shows that 18,099 schools in England were graded as either Good or Outstanding during 2021-22 Ofsted inspections.

With 25.2 million residential dwellings in England, this means that there are 72 Good or Outstanding schools for every 100,000 homes.

A regional analysis shows that with 3.4 million homes and 2,770 Good or Outstanding schools, the North West provides the strongest ratio for hopeful parents with 82 top-rated schools per 100,000 homes.

This is followed by the East Midlands (75), West Midlands (73), East of England (73), and South East (72).

The regions where parents will have the hardest task getting their kids into highly-rated schools are London (64), the North East (67), South West (69), and Yorkshire & Humber (70).

A local authority level the analysis goes on to confirm that the Midlands and North of England offers the best chance of getting a place in a Good or Outstanding school.

Nowhere is the ratio more favourable than in Rutland in the East Midlands where there are 118 top schools per 100,000 homes.

In Westmorland & Furness, there are an equally promising 115 schools, while in both Blackburn & Darwen and West Berkshire, there are 110 qualifying schools.

The rest of the top ten consists of Cumberland (106), Herefordshire County (104), Lancashire (99), Bolton (94), Oldham (92), and North Lincolnshire (91).

Managing Director of Barrows and Forrester, James Forrester, commented:

“This data demonstrates the challenge parents face when finding a home within the catchment area of a Good or Outstanding School, not to mention the fact they will probably face hefty price premium if they are able to secure such a home.

We would recommend that parents who are keen to secure a place at a top-rated school start the homebuying process as early as possible to avoid disappointment. Making the move less than a year before your kids are due to start at the school is simply too risky. You should be planning years ahead because the market churn in these locations is likely to be low which means buying opportunities are few and far between.

Still, the assistance of a great local estate agent will make the process much more achievable, especially if they have an intimate local knowledge and can sniff out opportunities before they even hit the market.”