Is Comprehensive Education Really Free? A Study of the Effects of Secondary School Admissions Policies on House Prices.

This paper reports on a study that tests the anecdotal hypothesis that the prices of houses near popular comprehensive schools carry a premium. Since local education authorities use admissions policies based on catchment areas and places in popular schools are very hard to obtain from outside these areas - but easy from within them - parents have an incentive to move house for the sake of their children's education. This would be expected to be reflected in house prices. The study uses a cross sectional sample based on two popular schools in Coventry.