Kingston crowned best place to work and live in London, new study finds
Kingston upon Thames has been ranked as London's best borough to work and live, according to a new study that was released in April.
UK property consultancy firm, Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH), releases an annual UK Vitality Index and alongside its 2023 version, carried out a separate study for London which saw the Royal Borough of Kingston claim top spot.
As with the national study, the London-centric index was split into three distinct pillars; Economy & Business, Living and Health & Environment, drawing on a total of 18 datasets.
The rankings were then formed through individual research of each borough, identifying their strengths, and the impact of recent events such as the pandemic on demographics and economics of the capital.
Kingston claimed the bragging rights in the Living section of the index, ranking above Harrow, Bromley, Newham and Westminster in the top five. The index undertook an analysis of education, lifestyle and consumption.
Particularly high GCSE results and house price growth were highlighted for Kingston's number one spot.
Examination results from August 2022 saw 87% of all A-Level entries across Kingston schools awarded A*-C grades - considerably above the national average of 83%. Similarly, 48% achieved the top A*-A grades, well above the national average of 36%.
GCSEs results show a similar pattern, with 86% of Kingston pupils achieving a grade four or above in English at maths, compared with the pre-pandemic 2019 national average of 65% - the last time examinations took place.
The proportion of pupils who achieved the English Baccalaureate, which considers performance across a range of subjects including humanities, languages and science, was also above national results, with 62% of students in Kingston schools achieving grade four or above.
January 2023 also saw house prices in the borough go up by an average of £1,000, taking the average house price in Kingston to £570,688 and representing a 8.1% increase from January 2022.
Kingston upon Thames' overall top spot in the LSH index also came from strong performances in the Economy & Business pillar and Health & Environment, where it featured in the top five London boroughs.
Commenting on Kingston's number one spot in the 2023 index, a spokesperson for LSH said: "London's oldest royal borough, Kingston upon Thames, takes the crown as the best place to work and live in 2023.
"Kingston scores well across all three pillars, but its standout performance is in the Living pillar, where it achieves top place bolstered by high scores for educational achievement and house price growth. It also places fifth for Health & Environment, with the borough boasting some of the lowest cardiovascular mortality and crime rates in London, alongside high recycling rates and a large supply of green space.
"Even Kingston's weakest pillar, Economy & Business, sees it score well above the London average with one of the highest GVA growth forecasts."
The LSH 2023 London Vitality Index can be viewed here.
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