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).

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

“I am just so angry at the world and unfairness of it all today.”

You have no moral high ground here. You were gaming the system yourself! And I hope you don’t pass on your lack of perspective, snob values and sniffy attitude towards immigrants onto your kid. Education starts at home.

Bucks has this grammar school system. Everyone who scores 121 (standardised) or over and is within catchment is offered a place. After that, other criteria (including distance) is applied. But the actual score is not one of these criteria

Do future siblings also have to pass with high scores? We are no where near thinking about the 11+ or entrance exams etc so I am just being nosey as OP stated siblings will have priority if DD gets a space

Catchment area is quite low down no? Our local grammar school has a lot of students from the surrounding towns

I’d be very annoyed about this, but I don’t think I’d be able to report. But I’d secretly hope someone else would.

I don’t think the child only just passing the 11+ is relevant. The over-tutored debate is separate. It’s not a super selective, so doesn’t affect your dc.

I am absolutely certain. Scores are used only as a tie breaker if two kids live within the same distance (within a margin of error of under 100 cm).

As the child is staying there and they have the paperwork to back it up technically it’s legal. My parents have a rental close to a sought after grammar school and once had tenants rent it and never stay there then leave 6 months in once the kid was in the school. Not sure how we knew but I remember conversations where the school had been informed and because the family had the paperwork it was ok, then for continuity when they moved out of catchment they kept the school place.

ifs frustrating and I do understand. I’m in a very bad area because it’s all I could afford and hate the local schools the behaviour is terrible- when just 5 miles away the schools are amazing. It’s not a meritocracy at all but this is the system in which we live

But the OP played by the rules. Otherwise it’s like someone justifying their tax evasion because other people get tax relief on pension contributions.

I thought the whole issue was that their actual main residence wasn’t in catchment but the fake on-paper-only residence was? Or there would be no point in doing it…

It is another two years isn’t it for Ukraine.

the flip side is they could argue that the relatives have now 2 years so it all made sense

here is the thing though you could still get in @grammarmom and certainly for siblings - birth rates are dropping where I am (Surrey/London borders) schools are reducing PANs in line with that. Catchments are now increasing having reached the smallest point I think for the current year 9 and 10s

Plus the grammar system isn’t for everyone - Dd is much happier now she has left it (sixth form she completed her time) and DS was much better suited to whst you may well think was the local crap school he is thriving act

We are also an immigrant family, it is very funny to hear we must be prejudiced.

The kid was stupid enough to tell you all about it, so they might not pass the 11+ anyway.

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

This is the point at which I lost sympathy. Was there any need for this?

This. You did it. Why are you annoyed someone else can too. Are you so very special?

the alternative would make no sense? It benefits no one when local kids can't go to their nearer school, and when the ones who got a spot are travelling ridiculous distance.

Even for grammar school, there need to be a catchment, otherwise it's chaos.

@grammarmom report them. YANBU. If it's legal, nothing will come of it, but if it is (as I suspect), admission fraud then they will have to deal with the consequences of their dishonesty.

For the extent she’s going to, she’s clearly desperate and probably slightly nuts. Just leave her be & mind your own business.

You leapfrogged someone a the catchment area was wider for your cohort too you moved in. Whats to say someone 100m further down the road didn’t buy 2 months before you assuming they’d get in.

it’s all 2 sides of the same coin - that coin being the system is unfair. Not that you or her have done anything specifically wrong.