Could online private schools change the real estate market?

Victoria has just approved its first teacher-supported fully online school and it could be a godsend for families wanting to move to regional areas.

Residz Team 3 min read


Moving near to an elite school can be costly for house buyers. Homes in the catchment areas for the ‘right’ public schools can attract a premium of hundreds of thousands of dollars compared with similar homes outside those areas. Private schools can also send house prices sky high as families jostle to buy properties within easy walking, riding, or bussing distance of their chosen school.

But families enrolling their children into Victoria’s first private online school will have no such constraints.

Living regional, schooling virtual

Victoria has just approved its first teacher-supported fully online school, and it could make the 48 regions outside Melbourne more attractive to home buyers. While many of these regions have quality local schools, this is the first time families would be able to access a prestigious Melbourne school education from almost anywhere in the state without boarding.  

Your family could live in a $375,000 home in Wodonga, a $350,000 house in Morwell,  a $470,000 in Sebastopol, or a $355,000 house in Loch Sport (pictured below) near the Ninety Mile Beach, and have your kids learning at an elite capital city school without needing to board.

14 Wilhelm Street, Loch Sport, is for sale for $355,000

As cost of living pressures make it difficult to afford both a home in the city and expensive private schooling, an online school gives families more choice as to where they live, work, and educate their children.

Enrolments for 2023 school year

Billed as ‘world class education for academically driven, self-motivated students in Years 5 to 12”, Haileybury Pangea is an online version of well-regarded co-ed school Haileybury. In 2018 the physical school was awarded Australian school of the year and in 2021 it was awarded the best remote learning and best wellbeing programs.  

At this stage the online school is approved to take enrolments for 2023 from students whose home address is in Victoria, but they can be temporarily overseas or interstate. Enquiries are being taken from residents of other states, but there is currently no anticipated date for acceptance of students outside of Victoria.

Latest technology and a teacher too

The annual fees for a year of online education through Haileybury Pangea is $18,000, lower than its face-to-face model.

Head of campus Joanna Baker says the online school will combine the latest technology and the school’s best practice teaching methods.

“Our students create their own educational journey. They attend 2-3 live lessons per subject per week, which are complemented by engaging and relevant self-paced work.”

All classes are delivered over Microsoft Teams conducted by a teacher and supported by a learning management system.  

Tree changers and sea changers among the target market

According to The Age newspaper, the online school will target “a variety of students, such as those who enjoy remote learning, rural and regional students, including those who moved during the pandemic, school-aged professionals, such as athletes or actors, and students travelling with their families.”

As we know, the pandemic saw millennials and Generation X families flocking to regions, driving property prices higher. The number of people moving to regional areas rose by 16.6% to reach a new five-year high in the March quarter of 2022, almost doubling pre-pandemic levels.

This is not the only virtual school in Victoria. Virtual School Victoria is a government-run online school for students in six enrolment categories: Medical (Physical or Social/Emotional), Travel, elite Sports/Performance, Distance, Young Adult, or Previous Homeschooler.

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Images:

Haileybury Pangea website

CShell Real Estate