For many children, 31 October is an important date. Beyond its reputation as the spookiest day of the year, for children in the final year of primary school (or at least their parents) in England it is also the deadline for submitting their secondary school choices. In contrast, their counterparts in Scotland recognise 31 October primarily for its Halloween celebration, as the default is for children to attend their local catchment area school.
One of the most striking differences between education in Scotland and England is how each nation allocates pupils to schools. Parents in England must ‘express a preference’ for the school(s) they would like their child to attend. In Scotland, meanwhile, each address is assigned to a single secondary school and by default children will attend this catchment area school. No parent makes a choice in Scotland unless they submit a ‘placing request’ to attend an alternative school. This is not encouraged, and is used by fewer than 15% of parents in practice. In Scotland, therefore, where you live is a much more important factor for where you go to school than in England.
The school assignment process may affect the mix of families in schools and neighbourhoods. When residential location guarantees access to a school, this creates strong incentives for parents (or prospective parents) to move to specific neighbourhoods to access ‘desirable’ schools. This, in turn, increases demand for properties and pushes up local house prices. Access to certain schools may become the preserve of determined families who can afford to live in sought-after catchment areas and this process of sorting is likely to lead to less diversity in the social make-up of neighbourhoods and schools.
