Primary school registration rules set out how places are allocated when a school is oversubscribed. Families who plan to buy near a school should understand the distance bands that apply, because those bands determine priority in the allocation exercise.
The wording of the rules matters. A home that is inside the 1km ring of a school may have a different priority from a home between 1km and 2km. If a rule change moves the priority boundary for a given year, the value of a home in that band can shift as families reassess.
Do not buy for a school place alone. A property should suit your life for many years, including the commute, the neighbourhood, the home's size and layout, and its tenure. A school may be an important reason to buy in an area, but it should not be the only reason.
Confirm the rules with the official sources before you commit. Policies are updated, and a decision made on an outdated understanding can be costly. Keep the official documents, and ask your agent to walk you through how they apply to the specific address you are considering.
When a family is choosing between two homes, a simple test helps: would you still choose this home if the school arrangement changed? If the answer is yes, the property is a sound decision on its own merits.