Do schools check that you're living at the address you put down?

[SchoolForAll]

We currently live opposite the secondary school that we want our son (currently 9) to go to.

Next year, we are moving closer to my husband's workplace. We plan to rent out our current house and buy a new house about 15 minutes away.

In order to guarantee that we get our son into a good school (the one opposite us), my husband wants to use our current address on the application form. We will still own the house but it will likely have renters in it. Would the school check that we aren't currently living there?

Thanks.

Secondary school staff really do not have the close knowledge of where their pupils live, and teachers have no close knowledge of the admissions criteria under which students apply. And it is the date of application that counts. You can move once a child is in the school.

So some of these replies are somewhat OTT.

But they do check eligibility within the T&C and will act accordingly so it would be dickish snd put your kids at risk to act fraudulently. So, best not,

Yes, they check addresses.

Why do you need to move closer to your husbands work place? Wouldn’t it be easier to be near the school - your son could walk home, have friends over, and be close to his friends to hang out, attend afterschool clubs etc? Kids are more involved with the area than a person is with the area where they work!!

Hi, Can you advise if I can move house after the application date. I want to buy one in the same vicinity and don't want to do it before the application as we're just 50meters from an outstanding school.

@PradeepDcosta Depending on when you move, your LA may insist on using your new address. If you move after offers have been made you should be safe, but some LAs will remove your place even though this is a breach of the Admissions Code. If this happens you should be able to get the place back through an appeal, but this is a lot of stress and uncertainty you don't want. I would recommend staying put until your child has started school.

my ex husband moved an hour away and our daughter lives with me all through the week and only sees dad every other weekend during term time. I have just found out he has applied to a local school near his new house and wants to move our daughter there.

firstly he did not inform me he was applying for a secondary school place.

secondly he has put down his address as our daughters main residence

will he get caught out for doing this or am I best to inform the council of what he has done.

our daughter is happy in her current school and would not want to move. It’s a through school so no need to move to a new school in seniors

They might.

I wouldn't risk it. I'd just get my dc into the school and then move.

@dssam555 you need to start a new thread, or lots of people will respond to the 2022 question, and not yours.

Just stay in your current house.

Why would you commit fraud and take all of the risks that go along with that to be just 15 mins away? There is literally no point in this?

You can move after he has started at the school if you really need to.

Oh fuck, it was a zombie thread!

Why on earth don't people just start a new one?!

Its well known that our local oversubscribed school hires someone to check addresses of applications each year.

Best option would be to wait to move until after your ds starts secondary school. Once he is in the school you can move however far you want. Plenty of people move after they have secured their spot (at least from what I have observed). It can be annoying, as we own our house and live right near the school, but struggled to get a spot because so many people were renting near by just to get a spot and then move after a year.....