Is this admission fraud? AIBU to report it?

Are you sure the actual scores don’t count? Our most local grammar only take the top 1/3 of everyone who took the entrance exam, that is above catchment, the second one if more pupils pass the 11 plus then they have space for, pupil premium pupils are offered a space as the next criteria, catchment comes behind that.

This was my immediate thought too.
Exit for typo

Grammars by default have an entrance exam, then places are allocated on a descending list based on highest score down. I am really not sure the op is correct that you just need to pass and then it’s a free for all and solely based on proximity to the school.

More than anyting, I also think these catchment issues, whethe ryou pay to live in a more expensive area to get into grammar or do what your friend has done or whatever, are a bit dodgy all round and just negate the point of grammar school.

And o course it means that even if the catchment is quite big (like ours are, in our looped process), the chances are that overall, the children in those areas in the "richer" areas have a better chance anyway as of course they'll be getting tutoring and all the rest.

You need to check the definition of address in the school's admission policy for 2026. For example, some expect families to have lived at the address for sometime and/or to own no other property in the area. Given you say the school is very popular there may well be something in the very detailed notes.

What the note say will define what is fraud or not.

There are admissions experts on Mumsnet including @prh47bridge

Who lived in rental place before them?
Might be it's a flat used year on year for the same thing- so having a child entering from that address may not impact like u expect?

That aside, if I was friendly with the mum and all this happened and you had no clue, then that feels sly to me. All's fair in love and school places, but her not being up front would mean I couldn't be friends.

But she hasn't taken your child's place. She played a better game than you.

But it wouldn’t buy a private school place for seven years, and that is what people compare it to.

😂😂

you need to rent a place, for you or your relatives, or whoever. You have the choice in one in the right catchment, and one where the location is not convenient at all.

Who on earth would NOT pick the catchment house?

And expecting your "friend" to give up on the best possible education for their own child to suits you? Seriously? 😂

morally dodgy, legally fine.

But it does make me wander if this is why the grammar schools in our area have a sort of "circular" admissions policy. It's a bit conplicated but as I udnerstand it from when we were previosuly thinking of sending DD to grammar, if the school takes 180 children, the top 60 are highest marks within the circle closest tot he School. Then the next 30 are the top 30 in area a, next 30 are in the top 30 in area B, then next are top 30 in area C. with each area (which I think are circular) clearly defined. So there's an element of chance -if your area is filled with kids who got a higher mark than yours, tough cheese. Or if your area is filled with kids who got a lower score than yours, great for you.

A loss they will have to learn to bear with fortitude

I guess different parts of the country have very different systems.

Wow, that’s really unusual. Which school is it exactly?

Keep your beak out it has nothing to do with you.

Double check the small print on the admissions criteria. My local grammar school got wise to people who own big houses a little further away renting tiny flats next to the school and the whole family apparently ‘relocating’ to the tiny flats next just before admissions. They have now added that if you own a house within 20 miles of your named rented address then the owned house will be taken as permanent address for application purposes.

Which is fine as either way she’s in catchment,

Money talks. To me there’s no difference between what she’s done and what you’ve done. You have both used money to leverage a better chance at getting your child into
a good school. Education can never be a level playing field no matter how much people want it to be.

That seems weird, I just assume grammars prioritised the top scores regardless.

I’ve never heard of a grammar that lets you in irrelevant if scores.

We have this issue locally, and the school now say that if you still own a house which was the child’s main residence at any point within the last 3 years, it is that one they count. Because some flats opposite the school were being bought and sold on an annual basis - back on the market every May and as soon as the eldest child was safely on the roll, they would exchange. And the rest of the family would get in on sibling grounds.

You’re moaning about how you bought a very expensive house in a particular area to secure a particular school. Now someone else who is also suffering with the catchment area reducing has also bought, one way or another, a property location to secure their child a place at this particular school. You can’t see how it’s the same? You’re both using money to secure a place somewhere that those with less money could not.

I for one can’t buy my way into select schools by gaining property in very highly sought after neighbourhoods. Why shouldn’t I be equally pissed off at you for an essentially buying a better education for your child?

I for one say good for them for finding a way around the system. Why should it just be the privileged few with the big bucks who get the reward. Presumably when they bought their original house they did so with the intention of that school. They didn’t decide to reduce the catchment area. They likely aren’t in a position to sell up and buy a few streets closer. So what’s the harm, exactly?

you do realise that when sibling priority has not been removed completely, more often than not it's sibling priority WITHIN CATCHEMENT, so if yours is shrinking you have no guarantee of a sibling spot.

And fair enough.

You can't be real and genuinely disgruntled that someone is doing exactly what you did, just better than you. You should have bought a house closer to the school, why didn't you?

Did you miss the part about her family coming over and needing somewhere to stay so they get the bigger property and she rents a smaller place as it’s lower cost obvs?

So catchment is more important than a great score?