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).

I know someone who changed religion so her children could go to good schools!@@.

Glad you aren’t my friend. You sound jealous and a tad bitchy. I’d be fuming if my friend (or neighbour) was quizzing my child for info to use against me.

Also you seem at pains to point out that the other child maybe isn’t ’grammar school material’ (this makes you sound vile) as they only just passed the exam - despite then saying a pass is the binary mark?!

No one is going to be arsed about morals …if it’s legal….then it’s legal
Absolutely this.
I'd stay in my own lane personally. I'd hate it to backfire on me in the future and end up being ostracised at the play ground and the potential implications for my child.

The relatives are moving into her old house, not the rented one, to create an illusion of her moving out. I doubt they will even pay any bills!
None of your buisness you dont even know if they are paying bills or not. Youve just said so.This means you havent got the whole story and are filli g in your own blank spaces. Stay in your own lane..

You paid over odds for a house in catchment, you financially bought advantage
she temporarily moved into a new house,incurring associated costs, to buy advantage
Well, her kid was smart enough to get a place, and they’ve been tutored too. Like most other pupils

Nope.

There will be set criteria eg being baptised, attending a certain number of services etc.

Whether you are of another religion or an atheist, if you do those things, you qualify

Ah, but one of you is a solicitor who has specialised for years, if not decades, in the admissions system and repeatedly gives helpful and knowledgeable advice on education threads. Those who sit on appeals panels tend to always agree with prh, or prh with them, lending further credibility to their ongoing posting.

And the other is you.

This is way more common than you think. A few mums I know are doing this for primary places, mostly by using a grandparent's address. I think it's disgusting but I'd fall out with a couple of friends if I said anything...

It kind of comes across that you are bitter about it… it sounds like you are desperate for your child to go to this school, would you do the same if you could afford it? She’s trying to give her child the best possible chance. You can tell on her but is that the reputation you want to have amongst your neighbours and fellow parents? That’s the way with these schools, it’s a postcode lottery but money helps.

It’s called “playing the game”.

No different to all the people who know how to wangle benefits they don’t really need - I’ve known plenty of them in my life, including very good friends. The same applies ot all the silly labels people want attaching to their kids to give them an advantage such as extra time in exams. Pathetic really imho.

This thread is really “life is unfair because someone else has more money than me and is therefore able to play the game better”.

OP could just have easily bought a house closer to the school herself if she was bothered and able.

It’s better to focus on your own life and move yourself forward rather than moaning about other people and what they do. I’ve known people make themselves ill with stress over things like this.

What seems morally questionable to me is your desire to interfere in the boy’s life, the mother’s life, and for what? It’s really not your problem.

The story has come from a child and may not be completely true or accurate.
If you report a story from a child you would look vexatious - and if it was untrue you could be in line for consequences of some sort in the future if your reporting was ever known about
Even if it was all true does it breaking any rules? Check the rules. Are second homes allowed? I think that is the only dodgy aspect in that it is a second home not a main residence.
Its not unusual for folk to move into a catchment area by purchasing or renting a property. Thats what most people do. Catchment areas do change - thats life.

What if someone else with a child who intended to make it their home had rented the place who had no idea about the catchment area issue? Would you have been upset then?

This thread is weirdly fascinating. Mostly what I’m learning is that it’s ok to prioritise your own child’s needs by breaking the rules it is not ok to prioritise the needs of your own child by reporting the people breaking the rules and making the admissions footprint smaller. I’m assuming we can call this policy snitches get stitches.

This sounds an awful lot like the Birmingham grammar schools (who have a pass score and do everything on catchment).

I get it OP, the senior schools round here are dire….and I say that as a mom of 4 who only had 1 get into the grammar system. I’d be pissed at the blatant piss take of the rules too.

And don’t forget (dare I say it) that people who have sat on appeal panels for aeons, and have attended numerous training events led by eminent specialist lawyers, may be more familiar with the law and admission codes and their interpretation than some solicitors who deal with an admissions case once in a blue moon.

That's crackers. If they've got that much money they could pay for thier kid to go to private school.

exactly,

Agree! Ive never heard of this happening in Scotland (could very well be wrong) but the English system has always sounded whackadoodle to me 😂

It will be much cheaper to spend £40k on renting a second home for 12 months than it will be to spend £30k every year on school fees between years 7-13. Which is why people do it.

The answer to your predicament is quite simple. Mind your own business. You do not have a crystal ball - will they move back into the old house after they get a place in the school, will they not, who knows, and most importantly who cares…this is not for you to predict, let alone to start “reporting” your predictions. Take a chill pill Sherlock. Technically she has done nothing wrong. We all want the best for our kids. You paid top dollar for the house to get yourself in the catchment, you managed it because you had more money than some others. She has more money than you, so did the same thing but slightly better playing the same game. C’est la vie. The concept of snooping and investigating what other families do is nauseating. Concentrate on your family, create a back up plan regarding school and try not to interrogate your child after they have a playdate with another kid pulling information out of them about other families. Not cool.

What are your local authority boundaries. Who do you and this women pay Council Tax to?

You can check who owns houses and lives there by checking with the Land Registry and Electoral Register.

Back in the day. Where l live. If children moved out to another local authority . They were asked to leave the school and find another school within their new authority asap.

This rule applied to all Schools including Primary, Secondary and Top State Grammar Schools.

Noted the remarks about ethics and morals. Which are a real thing of the past now. To me this sort of school place grabbing is really wrong.

Good Luck
🫰

Yes, me. So minuscule a figure, and yet not wrong.

I have no definitive statement on whether this would or would not be considered fraud. What I have said is that this is not a clear cut case of fraud, and it may very well stand up to any scrutiny by the school.

I just don’t get why you care.
Bright kids do fine at any school. My DD went to a proper shit show of a school and is at an RG uni. Doesn’t matter!!

I don’t think you are a minuscule figure, I think you have a lot less experience than others posting on this thread. Including @PanelChair <waves>. I’m sure that in whatever your own area of specialism is, you have more knowledge than the average bear solicitor.

Anyway, this is pointless. I know whose posts I trust more, you have your own views, do enjoy them and have a great evening

i haven’t read the full thread but I used to work in school admissions for an LA.
To see if a place has been allocated fraudulently you would need to look at the schools published admissions criteria and the information on what is defined as a place of residence.
You can complain to whoever has administered the schools admission criteria and they will look into the case but there is no guarantee a place will or won’t be withdrawn.
Ultimately the decision on if you report this lies with you OP.
Ahhhh this thread takes me back to national allocation days…