Lawrence Sheriff School Distance Planning: What Families Should Check Before Moving

Understand the admissions process first

For any selective school, the most important first step is the admissions process itself: how to register for the entrance test, the deadlines, and the order of the published criteria. A great home near the school does not help if the criteria mean a place is unlikely, so treat the school's own admissions policy as your primary source — not property listings, and not this page.

Where straight-line distance fits in

Where distance is used by a school, it is commonly a way of separating applicants who have already met the main criteria — not the main gate in itself. Our School Distance Calculator measures the straight-line distance between a candidate home and a point you choose, which is helpful for comparing homes against each other. It cannot tell you how the school measures distance, whether it uses a catchment, or what this year's applicants look like. For the mechanics, read how school distance is measured in the UK and catchment area vs distance.

Plan the rest of the move around it

A home chosen for one school still has to work for the rest of family life. Once you have a shortlist, put numbers behind it:

• Daily and annual commute cost with the Commute Cost Calculator.
• What you might borrow with the Mortgage Affordability Calculator.
• The one-off cost of moving with the Moving Cost Calculator.

For the wider area, see our Rugby area planning guide and the broader Warwickshire grammar school distance planning guide.

What to verify before you move

• The current admissions policy, entrance test and deadlines, directly from the school.
• Whether and how distance is used, and from which points it is measured.
• Live property prices for the streets you are considering.
• Real commute times by road and rail at your travel times.
• Stamp duty for your circumstances on GOV.UK.