Proposed grammar school extension in Sevenoaks may push property prices higher

Feb. 9, 2015 - PRLog -- There was a recent piece of education news that caused a stir among Kent estate agents. Kent County Council has given its seal of approval for a new satellite grammar school to be opened in Sevenoaks - with only the Secretary of State for Education, Nicky Morgan, left to sanction the development. It will be the first time in almost 50 years that a significant amount of new grammar schools places will be offered anywhere in the country, and property for sale in Kent around the proposed site is set for a brand new family audience.

The hopeful opening of a new grammar school will have a direct impact on property for sale in Kent, especially in the Sevenoaks area. Research released by Lloyds Bank in the summer of 2014 revealed that a location near a good state school can add an average of £21,000 to a property's value. Kent is one of a handful of counties in the country that has retained academic selection tests and the county boasts 39 grammar schools, not including those in Greater London that have a Kent postcode (such as those in Bromley and Bexley boroughs).

Winkworth Kent estate agents confirm that property for sale in Kent has long been a target for families looking at selective education for their children. With the selection test being phased out by many boroughs in the 1960s and 1970s, and the Labour government banning the creation of any new grammar schools in 1998, the fight for grammar places has increased to the point of massive oversubscription. Kent estate agents expect the opening of a new satellite school in Sevenoaks will push more buyers towards the area - which is currently the only major town in Kent not to benefit from a grammar school. How much houses prices will rise by remains to be seen but the recent Lloyds Bank research highlighted that houses near St Olave's and St Saviour's Grammar School in Orpington command a £152,680 premium.

The new grammar school - actually classed as an expansion and not a new school - will be an annexe of the Weald of Kent Grammar School in Tonbridge, offering 90 places to girls. If the Secretary of State for Education gives the plans the green light, it opens the door for more grammar schools in Kent to extend, especially since the new annexe will be an all-girls facility. Kent estate agents (http://www.winkworth.co.uk/regions/south-east) will be watching with interest to see if any of the Tunbridge Wells or Maidstone boys' grammar schools make an application to expand.