For most parents the education of their children is a major concern and it is something that is now being considered at the early stages of a child’s life or sometimes even before the child has been born. In the UK many parents are subjected to what many people are calling a postcode lottery, meaning that many kids can only attend certain schools if they live in the immediate catchment area. Typically because of this couples with children often find themselves trying to relocate in order to stand a better chance of getting their child into one of the better performing schools.

Lots of parents are now trying to save up money to be able to send their children to private independent schools and boarding schools as a means of making sure their child gets the best possible education. The competition for these private school places has increased significantly with some areas of the UK becoming flooded with new homeowners looking to move near to these sort of independent schools with the hope of getting their child a day pupil placement. This scenario is happening all over the United Kingdom and different counties are experiencing different levels of the problem. Surrey and Cornwall are two counties of England that share many rural similarities, whilst also remaining culturally very different. These counties make a good comparison of the problems faced today.

The county of Cornwall is located in the South West corner of the United Kingdom, along the coast. Cornwall has a pretty low population for it’s size, of about 500 thousand people and is made up of little rural towns and villages. As a result there are very limited independent schools in Cornwall as there simply isn’t much demand for them. Many education facilities in Cornwall are more than suitable for the levels of children at school age and this means that there are less than 20 independent schools in Cornwall.

The county of Surrey is located just outside of London and is one of the smallest counties in England, yet despite this it has one of the highest populations in the UK. In spite of this Surrey has managed to remain largely rural, thanks mainly to the number of transport links to London and nearby cities and towns. There are well over one hundred independent schools in Surrey, which shows that there is obviously a huge demand for education within the area. This is not very surprising as for many people working in the city, Surrey is a country retreat away from the hustle and bustle of city life.