Estimating secondary school catchment areas and the spatial equity of access
Alex D. Singleton; Paul A. Longley; Rebecca Allen; Oliver O’Brien (2011). Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 35(3), 241-249. DOI: 10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2010.09.006
Abstract
Following the Educational Reform Act of 1988, families in England and Wales have been free to identify a preferred school for their children’s secondary education. However, as part of this open selection, the demand from parents opting to send their children to the best performing schools far outstrips the supply of available places at them, and consequently many schools ration places using entry criteria that favour those pupils domiciled close to the school. Through this geographic selection process, choice is spatially sorted and access to the best schools is often crucially dependent upon where parents live. After illustrating this problem, this paper develops an automated modelling technique that can be used to define and map school catchment areas based on the home locations of pupils attending every publically funded school in England. It then develops this framework to create a web based decision support tool to aid parents seeking secondary school places.
Extended Summary
This research develops automated methods for mapping realistic secondary school catchment areas in England to help parents understand their chances of securing places at different schools. Despite the Educational Reform Act of 1988 granting families greater school choice, popular schools receive far more applications than available places, leading to geographic rationing based on proximity to schools. The paper addresses the critical mismatch between official catchment boundaries and the actual residential locations of pupils who gain admission. The methodology employs kernel density estimation (KDE) and percent volume contours (PVCs) to analyse the National Pupil Database, which contains residential addresses of all state school pupils in England. This approach creates more realistic catchment representations than previous methods like convex hulls, which can be distorted by outliers and raise disclosure concerns. The automated algorithm generates contiguous catchment boundaries by iteratively adjusting bandwidth parameters and percentage thresholds, typically starting with 70% of pupils within a 200-metre bandwidth. The research demonstrates significant improvements over existing approaches through better handling of confidentiality requirements and more intuitive visual representations. Key findings reveal substantial variations between official ‘areas of primary responsibility’ and actual pupil distributions, as illustrated by a Bristol case study where children beyond one kilometre from a new school were unable to secure places despite official catchment designations. The study culminates in an innovative web-based decision support system built using open-source technologies including OpenStreetMap data, R programming, and JavaScript libraries. This online tool displays school catchment areas alongside contextual information such as academic performance, socioeconomic indicators, and neighbourhood characteristics. The interactive mapping interface enables parents to visualise realistic catchment boundaries and make informed decisions about school applications and potential residential relocations. The research has significant policy implications for education planning and parental choice. Local authorities could use these tools to align published catchment boundaries with actual admission patterns, improving transparency and managing parental expectations. The methodology provides valuable insights into spatial equity of access to high-performing schools, revealing how geographic proximity continues to determine educational opportunities despite choice policies. This work contributes to broader understanding of how market mechanisms in education interact with spatial factors, highlighting the persistent importance of residential location in determining school access.
Key Findings
- Official school catchment boundaries often poorly reflect actual pupil residential distributions, creating unrealistic parental expectations
- Kernel density estimation with percent volume contours provides superior catchment mapping compared to convex hull methods
- Geographic proximity remains the dominant factor in school allocation despite parental choice policies introduced in 1988
- Automated catchment mapping algorithms can process all state schools in England while maintaining pupil confidentiality requirements
- Web-based decision support tools significantly improve parental access to realistic school choice information
Citation
@article{singleton2011estimating,
author = {Alex D. Singleton; Paul A. Longley; Rebecca Allen; Oliver O’Brien},
title = {Estimating secondary school catchment areas and the spatial equity of access},
journal = {Computers, Environment and Urban Systems},
year = {2011},
volume = {35(3)},
pages = {241-249},
doi = {10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2010.09.006}
}