Is this admission fraud? AIBU to report it?

All these people saying ‘she played the game better than you’ - she may not have done. I promise you, many grammar schools won’t fall for this.

this is from a grammar school in bucks’ admissions policy:
b. If a family still owns a property within 20 miles of the school which has been the main family home, a property closer to the school will not be accepted as the basis for a legitimate residence qualification even if the former property is leased to a third party.

and this from a grammar school in Reading:

If the main address has changed temporarily, for example where a family is renting a property on a Short Term Tenancy Agreement, then the parental address remains that at which the parent was resident before the period of temporary residence began unless it can be shown that all ties to the previous address have been relinquished, or that the move is not easily reversible. The Governors may refuse to base an allocation on an address which might be considered only a temporary address or an address of convenience.

I’d at least call the school/council anonymously OP, and see if what they have done is acceptable. I’m not sure if legal comes in to it, but the schools own admission policy does.

No. Learning by rote doesn't help understanding, it may get the info in but doesn't help you use it. Problem solving with informed feedback does that. There are also various memory strategies that can be learnt.

People process information in different ways, you find your own strengths and weaknesses and work with them. You also need to develop the self discipline to apply yourself when you may not have the motivation. Imo participating in a sport is the epitome of this.

exactly. I would like to see the OP son pass the 11+ in a second language.

Can you link the source for this 'fact'. I think you will find you can't......

what happened last year might not happen this year ie you have no idea how many kids in catchment there are who get in. Last year might have been a higher birth year.

I'd report. If it's so above board and so on, then nothing will happen. I don't think it's above board at all though.

I seriously doubt this child just spontaneously decided to have a chat regarding the rental house contract being signed a "day before cut off", and that they've moved there to ensure they secure a place at the school 😂

Far more likely Mum has just told them they're renting a house to help their relatives out, and that's it. I think you've concocted the rest of the story, and then grilled a kid to twist it to your own narrative.

No doubt the Mum has done it to skew the system, but if it's legal (that's the only bit that counts). Then it's tough tit really.

I think I misunderstood your OP.
She owns house A, her relatives have moved in with bills in relatives name.
She rents house B, with kids belongings and overnight stays there. And bills in her name.
Is she still living in house A or living house B? If she’s in B full time then probably legit. If she’s still in house A and pretending to be in house B I think that would be worth reporting because she’s probably breaking rules, but I guess that depends on the rules of your LA.

So if a mother moves out of a family home with the children because she separates from the father, and into a rental property closer to a particular school, but the divorce has not yet been finalised, the children would not get the school place? That seems very unfair on top of everything else the hypothetical children would be dealing with.

Not if they can't afford it.

oooooo I remember going through all of this when I was 10. I refused to have a tutor as I thought it was unfair but my mum still made me do practice papers every Saturday morning.

I did the same with GCSEs and ALevels and found out even much cleverer people had private tutors to get the grades to get into their preferred university.

Also don't get me started on the fact because I was getting B's instead of A's the whole drama about getting me tested for Dyslexia etc....

Good study habits - you mean memorising data?

My understanding is that what she has done would be looked upon very seriously by the local authority (could depend on the authority) and they could remove the school place - not fun for the child to be prepared to start at a school and then get removed once the LEA investigates.
The case above about a woman having her fraud case dropped only means she wasn't sued for her deception, it doesn't say whether the child lost their school place, which I suspect they did if the LEA were prepared to take it as far as they did.

We have grammars and if you pass and get over a certain amount, then it’s distance. It’s so the school is for local kids, rather than for kids from 30, 40 miles away.

It's all nonsense you thought you'd bought your way in by paying over the odds for a house and therefore putting your son above poorer people who couldn't afford to do so. Now she's bought her way in putting her son above yours. The consequence of a silly system.

The logical arrangement would be for the other family to move into the rental.

If it is Barnett, their admissions brochure is very clear that if you have lived in a property in the last two years and still own it, then that property will count as the permanent residence.

Sometimes it's about fostering good study habits. A lot of bright children have poor study habits and it lets them down on tests.

YABU

At the moment, they DO live there! OP is just annoyed that they played the game better than her. And questioning a child is pathetic.

Should renters not be able to apply in case they move?!

I’d have a lot more sympathy for you if you weren’t so determined to tell us how your child is intellectually superior (so magnanimously tutoring the little thicko over the road) to her cabbage-brained oik. Vile.

It completely depends on the school’s admissions policy. Sometimes they state that a rental address can’t be used for admission purposes if another property is owned.

Report it. She has played a dirty game. Now it’s your turn. I wouldn’t be happy if my more able child lost a place to a less able child whose mum cheated the system. Yes you bought the house but you’re not considering renting another to guarantee entry. The fact the main house is being rented and to family should go in your favour. I wouldn’t let it drop.

I'd check the admissions policy carefully, to see if this loophole is covered and report it to the school.