How it works
A data-backed admissions platform parents can rely on.
286 verified school profiles, 674 tracked. Weekly review of publicly available admissions information. A 9-pillar Index that shows its working. Deadline reminders on the channel you choose. No paid placement, no school edits, no affiliate fees — by design.
London schools tracked
with full verified data
Index pillars, weights public
alert delivery cadence
Our four principles
How we keep this honest.
These are the rules the product is built on. They apply to every feature, every school, every parent — and they don't bend for paying partners.
Data with a source.
Every fact in Houseroom is drawn from publicly available sources — each school's own admissions pages, published ISI inspection reports, Department for Education data, and other public records. We log the source and the review date on each record.
Publicly sourced · weekly review cycle
Methodology in the open.
The 9-pillar Houseroom Index publishes its full weighting, sub-index composition, and confidence calculation. The matching tool publishes its signal list. If a parent or school asks how a number was produced, we can show our working.
9 pillars · public weights · confidence-scored
Independence by structure.
Schools cannot pay to appear in matches, change their Index score, or remove published parent feedback that meets community guidelines. The product looks the same whether a school has claimed its profile or not. Expert advisors are independent of any school.
No paid placement · no affiliate fees
Kept current, not yearly.
Admissions information changes through the year. Our review pipeline checks every tracked school on a weekly cadence, and alert delivery runs roughly every 10 minutes. When a school publishes a new date, your reminder is updated to match.
Weekly review · ~10-minute alert cycle
The data
Where every fact comes from.
No data point is included unless it can be traced back to a primary, publicly available source. We work from those sources directly rather than rely on second-hand summaries that can age quickly.
Verified coverage today
- Fee data: 95% coverage, refreshed each admissions cycle
- Events / open days: 99% coverage, weekly review
- ISI inspection ratings: 85% coverage, linked to the original report
- Postcodes & locations: 91% coverage, geocoded to UK postcode units
- Leavers' destinations: 43% coverage, shown where published, marked when not
- Houseroom Index scored: 100% of listed schools, each with a published confidence band
Coverage figures recomputed from the live database. Last reviewed May 2026.
Each school's publicly published admissions information
The primary source for fees, registration deadlines, open days, assessment formats and entry-point criteria. Reviewed on a weekly cadence. Differences against our store are checked by our team before they go live.
Published ISI inspection reports
Independent Schools Inspectorate outcomes, recommendations and recency from publicly available reports. Each profile links back to the original report so parents can read it in full.
Department for Education and other public records
Pupil counts, published results data and SEN provision flags from official open data. Used as a cross-check against school-published figures; differences are noted on the profile.
Verified parent community
Members are verified before posting. School-tagged threads provide context signals (responsiveness, pastoral tone, recent admissions experience) that inform matching at a low weighting.
The science
How the matching and Index actually work.
Two things drive the product: the matcher and the Houseroom Index. Both are explainable; both publish their reasoning; neither can be edited by a school for its own benefit.
The matcher
An AI-assisted scoring pass with a deterministic rule-engine fallback. The matcher reads 40+ signals from your child profile and scores every school in the database. Reasoning is exposed on each result so you can audit why a school is in your reach, target or safer bucket.
- Academic confidence by subject, postcode, commute appetite
- Budget, entry point, scholarship interest, boarding/religion preference
- Learning style, social style, resilience, leadership appetite
- Outcomes-aware: weights leavers' destinations and value-add
- Re-ranks automatically when your child profile or location changes
The Houseroom Index
A transparent 9-pillar ranking on a 100-point composite, with three sub-indices and a published confidence score. Schools cannot adjust their score or weight. Where data is thin, the confidence band tells you.
- Academic outcomes (22%), university destinations (17%), future-ready (12%)
- Pastoral (12%), flourishing (8%), value-add (5%), access (10%)
- Parent voice (9%), external inspection (5%)
- Three sub-indices: Best for Academics · Whole Child · Future Ready
- Methodology page publishes the full calculation
Reliability
Built so the alert lands every time.
Parents trust the tracker because the process behind it is straightforward and reviewable. Here is what we do to keep it tight.
- Weekly review of each tracked school's publicly available admissions information; changes are checked before they go live.
- Review timestamp visible on every fee row, deadline and event.
- Schools with thin data are clearly flagged — we surface coverage rather than imply data we don't hold.
- Alert delivery runs on a roughly 10-minute cycle with a queued backup; failed sends are logged and retried.
- Methodology changes are versioned and dated; the Index shows the version each ranking was scored under.
No bias by design
The structural promises we're built on.
These are not promises hidden in a footer — they are how the product is built. Each one is visible in the product and applies to every school.
No paid placement in matches, the directory, the Index or search results.
No affiliate fees from schools, agencies, tutors or summer programmes.
Schools that claim a profile cannot change their Index score, hide their published inspection rating, remove parent reviews that meet community guidelines, or appear above more-relevant matches.
Advisors are paid by Houseroom on a per-question or per-engagement basis; they receive nothing from any school for any outcome.
Coverage gaps are surfaced, not papered over — when a school is thin on public data, the matcher down-weights it and the profile says so.
The three modules
Pick the part you want to understand.
Each module has its own deep-dive. Start where the question is loudest.
Module 01
Track School Deadlines & open days.
Registration windows, open days, assessments, offer days, reply-by dates — drawn from each school's publicly available admissions information and reviewed weekly. Reminders sent on your channel of choice.
674 schools tracked · weekly review · WhatsApp / SMS / email
See how it works →Module 02
Find the right school.
Personalised matches across 286 schools using 40+ child-specific signals, scored against the 9-pillar Houseroom Index. Reach, target and safer buckets with the reasoning shown.
40+ signals · 9-pillar Index · transparent reasoning
See how it works →Module 03
Get expert guidance.
A verified parent community for shared experience, plus an independent advisor roster for the high-stakes calls. No school affiliation, no commissions, no anonymous tutors.
Independent advisors · 9 forum rooms · written work within 3 working days
See how it works →FAQ
Parents most often ask.
Why is Houseroom a better starting point than a general search or a parent WhatsApp group?
General search results rank pages on relevance signals, not on admissions accuracy. Parent chat groups carry useful first-hand experience but can also carry older context from previous cycles. We compile each school profile from publicly available sources, log the source and date on every record, and publish our methodology — so you can see where each figure comes from.
How accurate are the deadlines?
Deadlines are reviewed weekly against each school's publicly published admissions information. Each entry carries its review date. When a school publishes a change, the next weekly review picks it up and the alert is updated to match. We aim for the date you see to always reflect the school's latest published information; if you ever spot a difference, please flag it.
How is the matcher unbiased if schools want to be in it?
Schools cannot pay to appear, change the ranking, or remove themselves from low matches. The match score is computed from your child's profile against the school data we hold — fees, entry-point format, distance, academic profile, published leavers' destinations and parent voice. The reasoning is shown on every match so you can audit it.
Is the Houseroom Index influenced by school relationships?
No. The Index publishes its weights, sub-indices and confidence calculation publicly. Schools cannot adjust their score or the weights. If a school flags a data point as incorrect, we re-check against the primary source and update if needed — for everyone, not just the school that flagged it.
Are the advisors truly independent?
Yes. Our advisors have no school affiliation, no referral commission and no school-paid sponsorship. They are paid by Houseroom on a per-question or per-engagement basis, regardless of whether the recommendation is 'this school is right for you' or 'this school is not'.
How do you make money?
Schools pay for verified profile management, an admissions front-door tool for handling enquiries, and applicant analytics. Parents are never charged for the core data; schools never pay to rank higher in matches, the Index or search.
What happens to my child's profile?
Private to your account. We do not sell parent data. Schools do not see individual child profiles unless you explicitly enquire or share a shortlist. The privacy policy has the full detail.
How often is the data refreshed?
Deadlines and events are reviewed weekly. Fees are refreshed each admissions cycle and on any mid-year change announcement. ISI inspection ratings update once we identify a newly published report. Leavers' destinations refresh annually as schools publish their results.