UK house builder offers prospective buyers
A UK house builder is offering prospective buyers the ability to research the best schools before committing themselves to a purchase.
Prompted by research that shows 32% of prospective homebuyers say that proximity to a good school is an important factor when buying a new property, Barratt Homes has teamed-up with the Good Schools Guide to give parents who are looking for a new home the opportunity to research the best schools in the catchment area at the same time.
They can go to the house builders website, enter a location, postcode or the name of the development in which they are interested and then have the option of asking for more information on nearby schools.
The Good Schools Guide search engine then generates a list of the nearest schools. Parents can filter the search by age-range, nursery, primary and secondary, or type, mainstream and special needs.
By then clicking on a school’s name, parents can instantly access details such as the number of pupils and the percentages passing exams in English, Maths and Science as well as Key Stage 2 statistics. For those who want to find out more in-depth information, the school’s website and contact details are also listed.
Written by parents for parents, the Good Schools Guide is widely recognised as one of the most authoritative and independent education resources available today.
‘Schools are a major consideration when we buy land to build our developments. We understand that parents want the very best for their children and that often it’s the school that dictates where they live, not the other way round,’ said Paul Walker, Sales Director at Barratt Northampton.
‘We are introducing this service now because parents who plan to move in time for the new school year often start house hunting during the Spring selling season. We believe that our school-finder will give them a head start,’ he added.