Parents in Beaconsfield’s HP9 postcode pay the highest premium in England to live within range of the town’s top performing state school.

According to research published this week by Lloyds Bank, properties near Beaconsfield High School typically cost 158 per cent - £634,181 – above the £400,366 average house price for Bucks as a whole.

The current norm for Beaconsfield’s HP9 postcode is £1,034,547.

Next highest in the premium stakes for areas close to the country’s top 30 state schools is the extra £367,632 buyers pay in Barnet’s NW11 postcode to stand a chance of getting a child into The Henrietta Barnett School.

Third place in the rankings is the HP6 postcode in Amersham where the average cost this year for a home near Dr Challoner’s Grammar School is £646,964, almost a quarter of a million (£246,598) above the county average.

Prices close to Beaconsfield High School have increased 36 per cent over the past five years. The house price to earnings ratio in HP9 is 22:1, making it the second least affordable district in England.

Property values near Dr Challoners’ boys grammar in Amersham have leapt even more since 2012. They’re up 46 per cent. House price to earnings ratio in this postcode is 13:8, making it the fifth least affordable district close to a top performing school based on last year’s GCSE results. The average house price to earnings ratio across England as a whole is 8:1.

Parents don’t always have to pay a premium to live near a top 30 state school in Bucks.

House prices close to Aylesbury High School in the HP21 postcode have shot up 48 per cent in the past five years from an average of £194,171 in 2012 to £287,692 but that’s still 28 per cent lower than the county average.

In Reading’s RG1 postcode with the attraction of Reading School and Kendrick School on the doorstep, the average house price this year is £288,430, that’s 32 per cent below the £421,147 average for Berkshire as a whole, representing a saving of £132,718.

Lloyds Bank director Andrew Mason says the findings of the latest research show the extent to which first class state schools help to skew house prices in some postcodes yet almost half the top 30 schools are in places where properties cost less than the county average.

He commented: “All parents want to ensure their children get a good education, so it’s not surprising that homes in areas close to the top performing schools typically command a significant premium over the surrounding area. 

“High demand [in these districts] has led to prices being out of reach for many buyers.”

William Furniss, partner at Knight Frank’s office in Beaconsfield voiced the opinion of most estate agents in the areas of south Bucks were house prices are among the highest in the country. 

He told the Bucks Free Press on Wednesday: “Home buyers are attracted to Beaconsfield for a number of reasons – road and rail communications, the surrounding countryside, the high street in Beaconsfield Old Town has become more vibrant of late with the opening of new restaurants and shops and of course they are also strongly influenced by the standard of education both private and state throughout the county.”