Is this admission fraud? AIBU to report it?

[grammarmom]

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).

Sorry, but everybody does it with the schools, no matter the ethnicity.

I think that if they move in (ie as a family, with all their stuff) before the cut off date and live there for a good length of time (no idea what that would be) then they would be fine. If they claim to have moved in before the cut-off date, but have not actually moved in then, or they don't actually move in at all, or they only half live there briefly, then it would be fraud.

I would be seriously tempted to grass them up if I were you. Not least as we live 10 mins walk from a great school, with other nearby schools a horrid busy drive away and much worse, or a horrid busy drive away and about the same and impossible to get into... and we were worried that we might not get in based on how close we were to the boundary.

Do you realise how vile you sound ?

Worth a try, though, since various posters on this thread have told OP the other mum has played the game better. So maybe the game’s not over?

I haven't read all the replies but I get the impression I'm going to be a minority view - I would report it because you're clearly angry and I think you'll be doubly angry if you feel like you didn't do everything to give your dc a chance. Sure maybe it won't change anything but at least you won't be kicking yourself.

If the story is true, and you are not missing any important details, she has done everything in her power to improve her dc's chances. I don't see an issue with you doing the same.

True!

I should imagine she thought the same.

OP you are incorrect. If you follow the news you will have read that Ukrainian visas are set to be extended for further 24 months when the current one expires.
And you would also know that that they are not renewed every year, they were 3 years and 18 months.

https://watfordgramma.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/key_information/Determined-Admission-Arrangements-Sept-2025.pdf?t=1737547080

Yes, report it.

I regret not reporting a family. They lived way out of catchment, the dad was a property developer and they used the address of a property they owned but didn't live in.

No idea- I thought you might as you seem to know how many kids between you and the school- last year Vs this year.... I mean I'm sure you could sleuth it somehow but it would be a bit weird and stalkerish.

People buy property based on school catchment. They also rent property based on catchment. As long as they are actually living there for a sufficient Period of time (often considered 12 months) they are doing nothing wrong.

the kid scraping a pass is irrelevant why do you keep mentioning this? If he meets the entry criteria he meets the criteria. You said yourself it's a binary threshold and that's all that matters!

This

If they're not living there, it's fraud. And they should not be offered a place over others in the catchment who meet the criteria.

I instantly regretted writing that, to be honest. I'm just very angry about the whole situation. I know the saying "hate the game, not the player", and I get it. but I still can't get past this

I can understand why you are upset.
Is the child living in the old house some of the time still?
I don't think I'd be able to bring myself to report it. I think you knew that there was a chance your DC wouldn't get a place with the shrinking catchment, but had some comfort that if yours didn't get a place, neither would their bestie. And maybe there was a part of you that thought your DC would get a place and theirs wouldn't. And you were OK with that because your DC was more deserving (scored higher, wasn't tutored as much, helped the other child out, lived a few yards closer). But now the other DC is a higher priority you are not OK with it.

They may both get a place, depends on number of siblings and how many other families have managed to move closer before the cut off date.

If they are actually living there then I don't know they have broken any admissions rules. If they are only living there on paper then many LA's would see it as fraudulent and remove the place.

I bet the mother is furious with the child if she knows how much they have told you.

Did you bring out the special sleepover thumbscrews for the Spanish inquisition of an 11 year old?

Oh bless him! I would have been the same if it had been an option (I don't remember ever hearing about them as a kid so assume we didn't have one anywhere near us). He may still choose the local comp even if he gets a place, might have just wanted to know he could pass the exam? Such a little superstar though ❤️ xxxx

You have no right to be angry.

This situation isn’t going to bring out the best in anyone. I have a lot of sympathy for you.

I think we’re all hypocrites to a greater or lesser degree when it comes to our own children.

And what’s your wish and best outcome, that it’s reported and the child no longer has a place? Would that make you feel better?

You’ve done exactly the same thing as her. But she’s gone one further.

I sincerely hope you are referring to the adult friendships only here OP. Although it has everything to do with your DS and his friend, conversely it also has nothing to do with them. It would be incredibly cruel and unfair to make them end their friendship because of an issue they have no control over and to impose adult issues on them.

Edited to add: to clarify, I do appreciate how this seems like a personal I justice and would agree that it is morally wrong. But legal.

OP is absolutely correct about how applicants for grammar achools are ranked once they have reached the qualifying score - ie, by distance.

OP, I encourage you to report asap, and to do so to the local authority in the first instance, as this process is coordinated by them. You should be able to report anonymously.

If it isn't illegal and it isn't, then it isn't fraud.

I know people who used grandparent's addresses and didn't even live in the country at the time of applying. They still got a place.

She may well move into the rental for a year and then move back. And she absolutely won't be the only person doing it either.

School boundaries change with every new housing development. Unfortunately you bought a house that is more affected than others.

You can't do anything about it and you cannot possibly know all the circumstances around it. She can say she split up from her husband, she can say the original house no longer suits her needs.

Around here, the rules have changed to say if your first child got into the school, and you then move out of the area, the younger children won't get in.

Hmmm it always feels unfair when you’re on the wrong side of it. But you paid top dollar to be in the catchment … surely there are others who see your ability to afford the catchment as unfair. You have a right to be annoyed, but be annoyed at the system, not this mam. She’s just playing the grammar school game like you all are. She’s moved house to get into the school. So did you (even if you had other reasons to live there too).

And what’s your wish and best outcome, that it’s reported and the child no longer has a place? Would that make you feel better?

Presumably if it could potentially impact on her own child getting a place, then potentially it could make her feel a lot better.