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Original poster

Is this admission fraud? AIBU to report it?

907 replies

grammarmom · 24/11/2025 16:21

Here's the situation.

We live in a grammar school catchment area that gets smaller every year. When we bought our house several years ago, it was very comfortably within the catchment for an excellent local grammar (very high in the league tables), and oh boy was it reflected in the price. Now we're right on the boundary. Among the thirty or so houses around us, some children got in last year and some didn't, literally a difference of a few yards.

Another child on our street, who is in the same class as my DC, only just passed the 11+ (a few points above the pass threshold). We live on the same road, but they are about 50 yards further from the school gate. Based on last year's distances, my child would likely get a place while theirs wouldn't.

Over the weekend, during a sleepover, the child mentioned that her mother has now rented a house much closer to the school to secure a higher priority for admission. The tenancy was apparently signed one day before the cut-off date, making it "legal" for admission purposes. She still owns their original home, but the story being presented is that relatives who were previously "homeless" will now live there free of charge, and all bills and utilities have been transferred into those relatives' names (I strongly suspect that the mother will in fact pay these bills as those relatives are penniless).

She's even moved the children's belongings to the rented property and makes them spend nights there (they hate it). There's no doubt that once the school place is obtained, they will move right back.

This effectively pushes my child down the priority list and means they may now miss out.

Would this constitute admissions fraud? It feels incredibly unfair that someone with £40k to spare for rent can effectively buy their way into a top grammar school, especially when their child didn't perform particularly well in the exam (despite being tutored for hours every day).

Should I report this? I have no more detail apart from what this child told me (and they obviously weren't too sure about some aspects of it due to age).

OP posts:
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NewCushions · 24/11/2025 17:51

ledmeup · 24/11/2025 17:43

If you look at a school like Tiffin - I think they used to have a "top xx students who pass the exam and apply get in" policy and now they have a two tier (or 3 tier?) catchment zone approach but it's still very wide and much wider than any non-grammar school. which is great - more opportunities to go there for more children. BUT, inevitably, this particular part of SW London/Surrey is, of course, fairly well off and while there are pockets that are less well off, the ones that are probably have a better chance

Tiffin boys has a huge priority area, as a result one needs to score a very high score to get a place.

yes - that was the issue for us. Even if she COULD get a place (and she'd have had to have at least some tutoring to get there), the big catchment made it really tricky for us from a logistics perspective.

Hiptothisjive · 24/11/2025 17:51

grammarmom · 24/11/2025 17:37

I was simply explaining the situation. It's actually unlikely that this grammar school is even a good fit for her DC, as they're not particularly academic and they were heavily coached for the exam. My own child spent hours helping this kid with the more challenging non-verbal reasoning topics. This isn't a case of a struggling single parent doing everything they can for their child, though some people here are trying to frame it that way. The mother considered going private as her main option, and has the money for it.

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Yeah not cool. Have no sympathy for you now. How dare you project your anger onto a child and whether or not they would fit in better to a school than your kid?

I know many many kids who got high 11+ scored and didnt perform well or do well at grammar. I know kids that ‘barely’ passed and flew at grammar. Your child isn’t more entitled or better.

You played the game and she played it better and now you are throwing your toys out all over that place to make it seem that your child deserves it more - and just to cut to the chase - they don’t.

Your attitude is poor and entitled at best.

Original poster
grammarmom · 24/11/2025 17:51

Wickedlittledancer · 24/11/2025 17:48

Op, before you report them and potentially embarass yourself,email the school and confirm absolutely no priority is given to high scores. Or link the school and we can confirm, but I’d put good money on you being wrong here.

I don't want too much identifying detail. The local authority has been mentioned upthread by one of the posters who clearly has been through the process too. Just trust me that I know the admission criteria by heart now.

OP posts:
hermanne · 24/11/2025 17:50

Is it one of these schools?

www.swhertsschools.org.uk

titchy · 24/11/2025 17:50

Do the admissions arrangements specifically say whether this new rental will count? Many, eg the London Boroughs, would disregard the rental.

Wickedlittledancer · 24/11/2025 17:50

ledmeup · 24/11/2025 17:49

@Wickedlittledancer yes scores are the most important.

Yes, it’s highest scores ger priority, some even out of catchment, then the rest based on location.

LovesLabradors · 24/11/2025 17:49

This would absolutely be admissions fraud where I live (11+ Grammar school area.)
The address used must be the child's main residence - renting a house for a year in the catchment & keeping your old house is the oldest trick in the book and most oversubscribed schools are wise to it now.
OP - I would genuinely report this if my child didn't get a place at the school, and hers did.
She's played dirty for her child - you fight for yours.

TheGander · 24/11/2025 17:49

If he’s scraping a place despite being heavily tutored he probably won’t do any better than if he was in a decent comprehensive.

Doggielovecharlotte · 24/11/2025 17:49

Q

Ralphiethedog · 24/11/2025 17:49

Can we please take a step back and see how insane this is? I live in Scotland where there is a strict catchment, you go to the school you’re in catchment for. The state schools here aren’t great so there’s no breaking a neck to get into a ‘good’ one. If you’re that fussed you pay to go private. My BIL lives in England and for months before the 11+ every Sunday was revision day for their kids. Months of wasted Sundays, all due to a crazy school system. It’s just so sad. Why are we locking our kids away at a weekend when they should be out getting some fresh air? Makes no sense at all.

cantkeepawayforever · 24/11/2025 17:49

You do not have to judge whether it is fraud or not, and only report it if you are certain. Just report it as ‘potential fraud’ and leave the authorities to do their investigation.

If it’s not fraud, no harm done. If it is, then they will face the consequences.

AlexisP90 · 24/11/2025 17:49

Its legal surely? Morally horrible yes but legal wins over morals.

Report it but I highly doubt much will be done

Wickedlittledancer · 24/11/2025 17:49

TheNightingalesStarling · 24/11/2025 17:48

If you report, they will investigate and decide if the address is legitimate and if not, use the other address. They won't just take one person's word for it.... there are ways of checking.

If the child is happily telling people she hasn't really moved, other people might report as well.

Is it a reading comprehension issue. The op didn’t say the kid said that either, they are moving in for a year.

ledmeup · 24/11/2025 17:49

@Wickedlittledancer yes scores are the most important.

TrainersEverywhere · 24/11/2025 17:48

Many admission authorities now have a protocol in place for ‘Address of Convenience’.
Google it to find your local council policy.

Wickedlittledancer · 24/11/2025 17:48

Op, before you report them and potentially embarass yourself,email the school and confirm absolutely no priority is given to high scores. Or link the school and we can confirm, but I’d put good money on you being wrong here.

Tardigrade001 · 24/11/2025 17:48

Can't believe the OP is talking about morals when she took advantage of a child's good nature to interrogate them in order to snitch on the family.
Is this even for real?

TheNightingalesStarling · 24/11/2025 17:48

If you report, they will investigate and decide if the address is legitimate and if not, use the other address. They won't just take one person's word for it.... there are ways of checking.

If the child is happily telling people she hasn't really moved, other people might report as well.

ledmeup · 24/11/2025 17:47

grammarmom · 24/11/2025 17:45

We're right on the edge of the catchment. Based on last year's "furthest distance offered" and what happened with our immediate neighbours, my child would likely have received a place while hers wouldn't. Of course, no one can predict exactly how the catchment boundary will shift this year. Hope this clarifies.

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Most schools are seeing falling rolls so it’s unlikely that one dc will impact your dcs place.

FlipzMilk · 24/11/2025 17:47

quantumbutterfly · 24/11/2025 17:45

People will find ways to game a system. Do we need more grammar schools or none?

You would think with a falling birth rate there would be less competition.

Randomlygeneratedname · 24/11/2025 17:47

lessglittermoremud · 24/11/2025 17:38

Yes they do, I only know about the process because we’ve just been through it with one of our children. We don’t have a local one both grammar schools are about a 40-50 bus ride away, so when I looked around them both I asked what the over subscription criteria was. Catchment wasn’t really up there at all, both schools are over subscribed so one school literally gets a ruler, lists all the children who have passed the exam in order of score and draws a line where their last place to be filled is and that’s it.
The other school list them in order of who has passed the exam, if more people have passed then they places for they go back over the list and see if anyone is pupil premium/in the care of local authority and they get offered a place, then it’s done in order of score after those children have been catered for.
A sibling wouldn’t get offered a place if they weren’t in the top 1/3 of results, I was looking around them in a group and one of the ladies had 1 at the school already, 1 in a local comp because they hadn’t passed and she was showing around the youngest so they could decide if they wanted to sit the exam.
In our case a situation like the OP wouldn’t happen as scores come first, however it is ironic that she has paid over the odds for a house in a catchment when many people couldn’t have afforded to do so and she’s complaining about someone being able to move closer because they have the money to do so….
In our case we have one in a local comp, the next one decided to try for grammar because he had heard about the better sporting opportunities, so we put him in for the exam but there is no way I would have moved closer to get into catchment and paid more for a house.

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Thank you! That makes a lot more sense. I was really confused about sibling places when they wouldn't have even sat the exam yet! I don't think we have a grammar school near us and I didn't go to one so it is all a bit of a mystery to me.

Andfinallyphew · 24/11/2025 17:47

You have an inaccurate username op

you are not a grammar mum!

ledmeup · 24/11/2025 17:47

especially when their child didn't perform particularly well in the exam (despite being tutored for hours every

Surely this isn’t that relevant as the scores aren’t particularly pertinent?

AlexaStopAlexaNo · 24/11/2025 17:46

Your child’s first lesson in “money talks”! 😜

Wickedlittledancer · 24/11/2025 17:45

OwletteGecko · 24/11/2025 17:45

It's how it works for the grammar near me. Once they take the top scorers, the rest of the places are purely on distance. It doesn't matter if you scraped a pass or did well.

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rhats not what the op said, she said all they need to do is pass and then it’s based on distance, yours is like all the others and what I said, priority given to high scores.

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