Home in on the best school

Educating a young family can cost a small fortune, but there are smart ways to ease the burden

- SUSAN HELY

Schools can sometimes dictate where families buy or rent property. Schools can also be ridiculously expensive. One way to get around the high cost of education is to live in a neighbourhood with good public schools. It can save a family with two kids some serious money.

“A private school education at a public school price” is how Peter Koulizos, program director of the master of property degree at the University of Adelaide, describes the quest that many parents undertake.

You only have to look at the numbers: the bill for two kids with 13 years of education each at government schools will be around $137,000 compared with perhaps three times as much, and even up to $600,000, for a metropolitan private school. A Catholic education costs less than half that of a private school at around $254,000, according to figures from the Australian Scholarship Group.

Koulizos says public schools with a gifted and talented stream, languages and internationally recognized International Baccalaureate streams are popular.

But the only way you can gain a valuable spot in a highly ranked, non-selective public primary or high school is to live in the catchment zone. This means that if you are planning to move, you need to buy or rent a property within that boundary.

New arrivals in Australia, who are often keen to get their children into good schools, are helping to push up property prices in these areas.

Property can be scarcer and prices up to 10% higher, says Koulizos.