Top marks: King Edward’s School (fee-paying, mixed, day, junior and
senior, 01225 464313; www.kesbath.com)
is a leading independent near the city centre.
Merit: Millfield (fee-paying, mixed, boarding and day, 13-18) and
Beechen Cliff (state, boys, with girls in sixth form) are also popular,
while there is always a stampede to live near St Stephen’s School in
Lansdown (state, primary, mixed).
The area: Commutable to London at a price, but a civilised city with
great architecture.
Bishop’s Stortford
Top marks: Hockerill Anglo-European College (state, mixed, day with
fee-paying boarding, 01279 658451; www.hockerill.herts.sch.uk)
attracts fans of the International Baccalaureate.
Merit: Bishop’s Stortford College (fee-paying, mixed, day and boarding,
junior and senior) and Bishop’s Stortford High School (state, boys with
girls in the sixth) are also popular.
The area: Likeable market town, set in salubrious countryside. Perfect
for commuters to Liverpool Street.
Bournemouth
Top marks: An impressive clutch of grammar schools is spearheaded by
Bournemouth School for Girls (01202 526289; www.bsg.bournemouth.sch.uk),
Bournemouth School (boys) and Poole Grammar (boys).
Merit: The excellent Talbot Heath School (fee-paying, girls, mostly
day) is another winner with parents.
The area: Less sleepy than its reputation, with funky enclaves and
glorious Dorset countryside to complement the old pier and promenade.
For sale: Five-bedroom house in the Queen’s Park area with Cliftons
(01202 789699; www.cliftonsestateagents.co.uk):
£650,000.
Brighton
Top marks: Brighton College (fee-paying, mixed, mostly day, junior and
senior, 01273 704200; www.brightoncollege.net)
is a true centre of excellence.
Merit: Dorothy Stringer School (state, comprehensive) is also popular,
but the council operates the controversial lottery system for oversubscribed
schools.
The area: Less than an hour from London, but with sea air, bohemian
quirkiness and faded Regency grandeur.
For sale: An elegant three-storey, three-bed Victorian home with Mishon
Mackay (01273 775588; www.mishonmackay.com):
£435,000.
Cambridge
Top marks: Hills Road Sixth Form College (state, mixed, 01223 247251; www.hillsroad.ac.uk)
achieves more Oxbridge entries than any other state school in the country.
Merit: Top independents include the Perse School (fee-paying, mixed,
day, junior and senior) and Perse School for Girls (fee-paying, day, girls,
mixed in sixth form).
The area: Dons on bicycles, leafy streets and outstanding hospitals.
For sale: Four-bed semi-detached Victorian house off Hills Road, with
Bidwells (01223 841841; www.bidwells.co.uk):
£900,000.
Camden
Top marks: Independent and state schools vie for bragging rights, with
University College School (fee-paying, boys, day, 020 7435 2215; www.ucs.org.uk)
out front.
Merit: South Hampstead High School (fee-paying, girls, day) is given a
run for its money by Camden School for Girls (state, with boys in the sixth
form).
The area: Run-down in places, but with some trendy canalside enclaves.
For sale: Four-bedroom house in Rochester Mews, Camden, with Chesterton
Humberts (020 7267 2053; www.chestertonhumberts.com):
£1.65 million.
Cheltenham
Top marks: Pate’s Grammar (state, mixed, secondary, 01242 523169; www.pates.gloucs.sch.uk)
is high-achieving.
Merit: Cheltenham Ladies’ College (fee-paying, senior, girls, boarding
and day) and Cheltenham College (fee-paying, mixed, boarding and day, junior
and senior) are also world-renowned.
The area: Festival town with gorgeous Regency properties.
For sale: Modern four-bedroom home in small gated enclave, with Frank
Knight (01242 246959; www.knightfrank.co.uk):
£725,000.
Cranbrook
Top marks: Parents fall over each other to buy in the strictly
demarcated catchment area of Cranbrook School (grammar, mixed, day and
boarding, fees only for boarding, 01580 711800; www.cranbrookschool.co.uk).
Merit: Benenden (fee-paying, girls, boarding) is the pick of the
independents.
The area: Low-key Kent town with hidden depths. A lot going on in the
arts.
For sale: Grade II farmhouse within Cranbrook School catchment, with
Savills (01580 720161; www.savills.com),
guide price: £950,000.
Dorking
Top marks: Ashcombe School (state, mixed, 01306 886312; www.ashcombe.surrey.sch.uk)
is highly sought after.
Merit: Hurtwood House Schools (fee-paying, mixed, mostly boarding) and
St Teresa’s (fee-paying, girls, mostly day, junior and senior) are also
highly esteemed.
The area: Antique-rich market town in the heart of the Surrey Hills but
less than an hour from London by train.
For sale: Five-bed house close to town centre, with Knight Frank (01483
565171; www.knightfrank.co.uk):
£1.6 million.
Guildford
Top marks: An embarrassment of educational riches is crowned by St
Catherine’s School (fee-paying, girls, mostly day, junior and senior, 01483
893363; www.stcatherines.info).
Merit: The Royal Grammar School (fee-paying, boys, day) and George
Abbot School (state, mixed) are also valued.
The area: Commuterville par excellence with numerous £1 million-plus
properties in a civilised, leafy setting.
For sale: Six bedroom family house in Abottswood, on the outskirts of
the town, with Knight Frank (01483 565171; www.knightfrank.co.uk):
£2.5 million.
Hammersmith and Fulham
Top marks: St Paul’s Girls’ School (fee-paying, day, 020 7603 2288; www.spgs.org)
is justly celebrated.
Merit: Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School (state/RC, boys with girls
in sixth) and The London Oratory (state/RC, boys with girls in sixth, junior
and senior), prove that the borough takes schooling very seriously.
The area: Cramped in places, but rich in excitements, such as the
King’s Road.
For sale: An end-of-terrace five-bedroom family house near Ravenscourt
Park, Hammersmith, with Douglas Gordon (020 8563 7100; www.douglasandgordon.com):
£1.27 million.
Lancaster
Top marks: Lancaster Girls’ Grammar School (01524 32010; www.lggs.org.uk)
would surely grace any town.
Merit: Lancaster Royal Grammar School (state, with fee-paying boarders)
gives bright local boys an equally good start.
The area: Charming medieval city with the glorious Lake District nearby.
For sale: Four-bedroom barn conversion in nearby Halton, with Entwistle
Green (01524 892 021; www.entwistlegreen.co.uk):
offers over £500,000.
Oxford
Top marks: Magdalen College School (day, boys, junior and senior, 01865
242191; www.mcsoxford.org) is
the leading independent.
Merit: Oxford High School (fee-paying, girls, day) and Headington
School (fee-paying, girls, day) are also excellent; Cherwell School (mixed,
day) is the pick of a number of good state schools.
The area: University city steeped in history and increasingly popular
with young commuters to London.
For sale: Four-bedroom Victorian semi in fashionable Walton Manor area,
with James C Penny (01865 554422; www.jamescpenny.co.uk):
£795,000.
Southend-on-Sea
Top marks: Southend High for Boys (grammar, 0844 477 1752; www.shsb.org.uk),
Southend High for Girls (grammar) are bastions of old-style single-sex
selective education.
Merit: Westcliff High for Boys (grammar) and Westcliff High for Girls
(grammar) follow the same ethos.
The area: Eccentric but attractive mix of commuter land and seaside
resort.
For sale: Three-bedroom house with landscaped gardens in nearby
Barling, with Fine (01702 826037; www.fine.co.uk):
£695,000.
Stratford upon Avon
Top marks: King Edward VI School (boys, grammar, 01789 293351; www.kingedwardvi.warwickshire.sch.uk)
was good enough for W Shakespeare…
Merit: Warwick School (fee-paying, boys, mostly boarding) is the pick
of the local independents.
The area: Riverside town with bags of character for such a touristy
destination.
For sale: Five-bedroom house in a pretty village, Alveston, within the
Stratford catchment area (01789 297735; www.knightfrank.co.uk):
£1.2 million.
Tonbridge
Top marks: Tonbridge Grammar School for Girls (some boys in the sixth,
01732 365125; www.tgs.kent.sch.uk) is first rate.
Merit: Weald of Kent Grammar (girls, boys in sixth) is sought after.
Tonbridge School (fee-paying, boys, boarding and day) leads the independents.
The area: A congenial market town within easy commuting range of London.
For sale: Listed 15th-century three-bed house in Hadlow, with one acre
and a swimming-pool, with Chesterton Humberts (01732 741 212; www.chestertonhumberts.com):
£530,000.
Truro
Top marks: Truro College (state, boys and girls, 01872 267000, www.trurocollege.ac.uk)
is one of the country’s best sixth-form colleges.
Merit: Independents include Truro High School (girls, day and boarding,
junior and senior) and Truro School (mixed, day and boarding, junior and
senior).
The area: Compact cathedral city with some lovely waterside properties.
Wimbledon
Top marks: King’s College School (fee-paying, boys, day, junior and senior,
020 8255 5300; www.kcs.org.uk) is
top of the independents.
Merit: Wimbledon High School (fee-paying, girls, junior and senior) is an
excellent alternative, as is Putney High School (girls, independent). The
most popular state primary is Wimbledon Chase Primary School (mixed).
The area: The combination of the magnificent Common and upmarket shops in the
Village is hard to resist.
For sale: Detached four-bed house with landscaped garden near Wimbledon Tennis
Club, with Chesterton Humberts (020 8246 5959; www.chestertonhumberts.com):
£1.25 million.
Winchester
Top marks St Swithun’s School (fee-paying, girls, day and boarding, junior and
senior, 01962 835700; www.stswithuns.com)
is a magnet for ambitious parents.
Merit: Winchester College (fee-paying, boys, boarding) needs no introduction.
There is also stiff competition from Peter Symonds College (state, mixed,
but with fee-paying boarders).
The area: Ancient city with an appealing mix of farmers, bankers and clergymen.
For sale: A five-bed house in half an acre, six miles from the city centre,
with Knight Frank (01962 850333; www.knightfrank.com):
£1.25 million.
York
Top marks: Savvy parents buy near Bootham School (fee-paying, mixed, day and
boarding, junior and senior, 01904 623261; www.bootham.york.sch).
Merit: Other first-rate schools are St Peter’s (fee-paying, mixed, day and
boarding) or Fulford (state, mixed).
The area: Peerless cathedral city, ringed by prime Yorkshire countryside.
For sale: A seven-bed Georgian house near York city centre, with Savills
(01904 617820; www.savills.com):
£800,000.