Why school catchments are becoming critical: Pete Wargent

EXPERT OBSERVATION

School catchments have always been important in driving demographics, and how and where families choose to live.

But as the capital cities become denser, this will become more and more so the case.

In Sydney and Brisbane we are now seeing the advent of high-rise inner-city high schools, which is something perhaps more readily associated with countries such as Japan, or elsewhere in Asia.

At the Inner Sydney High School site in Surry Hills, the 14-storey school with a tech and science focus is under construction, but isn’t due to open until 2020.

Yet already applicants from outside the catchment area are being sidelined onto a waiting list.

Aspirational parents will have a natural desire for their children to be able to access the high-tech facilities and state-of-the-art modern classrooms, and as such we can reasonably expect that they’ll move heaven and earth to achieve that end.

When fully constructed the Inner Sydney High School will provide education for 1,200 students.

PETE WARGENT is the co-founder of AllenWargent property buyers (London, Sydney) and a best-selling author and blogger.