Cheating admission system

[Anonymousposter17]

Prepared to take a battering here, but interested to know what others would think.

Two years ago I moved towns to try to be able to get a better standard of high school for my dd who is now in y 6. We don’t live in a part of the country where selection is a thing, although she’s bright and I think she’d pass 11+ given the opportunity. Private education is out of my reach financially.

I’m a Christian who has always attended ce church, even before I had dd. Dd is baptised. There is a brilliant ce state school in a small neighbouring town to where I live. I couldn’t afford to buy there. I researched this school’s admission policy and aside from the usual looked after children, medical needs and children of staff it went like this:

1 children living in the parishes v close to school (where I couldn’t afford to buy) with proof of church attendance

2 children living in a few named parishes slightly further from school with evidence of church attendance (I bought in one of these parishes)

3 children in the nearby parishes with no church attendance

4 children further away with no church attendance (I’m pretty far away given how oversubscribed this school is)

anyway I did a freedom of information request before buying my house to ask on the most recent cohort where the last admitted child came on the criteria and it was criteria 3, meaning me being criteria two would have got dd in that year. I’m aware things change year on year but it gave me the general picture.

Now it’s time to apply and the criteria for the next intake has been amended. It now goes

1 nearby children with church
2 nearby children without church
3 far away children with church
4 far away children no church

their admission booklet shows that this year only one child got in based on 3 far away with church so there’s now almost certainly no way I’d get her a place.

my partners mother owns and rents out a number of houses in the nearby names parishes. This presents an opportunity to rent from her at a very discounted rate (but not easily affordable either) to be living in the right place. If I rented one from her, I literally would move there albeit in the short term as I’d be terrified of getting caught lying but I’m not sure I’d get permission from my lender to let my house out so it may stand empty. I’ve no idea about renting houses out. I can just about take the financial hit of renting from parters mum but it would not be easy.

honestly, if you had the means to do this (and the motive- there is nowhere close to this school in standards near and no other option for a faith education for her) would you? Or am I scum of the earth for even thinking it.

I recognise the irony in someone looking for a Christian education being so devious btw

That is dishonest and you know it.
Plus if you don't sell your existing home you would likely be found out anyway.

Don't entertain such an idea, you'd feel too guilty. How can you want a faith education if you are willing to get the place in a lie?

If you are that keen, sell your house and move properly.

Everyone else will be looking out for themselves.... do what you need to do.

I think you would be caught out tbh

You would be leaving your house empty but still owning it. It would be obvious you had rented to get a place. They could ask for more evidence and you might struggle to explain why you were renting this house whilst you owned a house not far away.

Many councils have closed this loophole... if you own a house but rent nearby they can use the owned house as your permanent address.

Exactly people will look out for themselves. Which is exactly why people will report her if the lose out on a place

Many areas require you to prove that you have moved permanently & relinquished all ties to your previous address, and to stay at the new address for a certain period of time. If you do this & get found out your daughter's place can be withdrawn.

I can’t afford to sell my house and move properly. The asking prices in the places near the school are 30% higher. I’m curious where you’d draw the line, if I left my house empty and rented a discounted rate for the duration of her schooling, would that be wrong? Clearly that would be insane, but hypothetically. If I did manage to let my house out so that I couldn’t be accused of secretly living in my own house would that be wrong?

I do know it’s wrong but I also know that other people will be doing it, which doesn’t make it right I know.

Goodness me, if this is the type of dishonesty one should expect from members of a church then I'm sure as hell glad I don't attend any!

Even if tenants were in my owned home? How would they know I was renting the home I lived in nearer to school?

Good Christian values... 🙄 honestly really is the best policy.

Pretty sure they'll want a proper tenancy agreement too, not just an informal "oh you can live here dear". This is specifically avoid people who rent from their families/friends in order to get into a school.

You could sell your house and rent. That would be OK.
But you are trying to have your cake and eat it, pretending to move into the community but not doing it properly.

They've closed this loophole.

So if you get caught they will remove the school place

The necessary Council Tax record check when you make your application would be a bit a clue.

Council tax checks would show where you used to pay council tax. Then they would ask what happened to the previous home.
Plus the other children / parents in your DC's primary class would notice and one of them may well report.

Ok, so if I were to sell my home and rent in the area, then is that cheating?

The primary class wouldn’t notice. When I moved from my last town I kept dd in her original primary so I drive her fifteen miles to a different town from my town and the high school town. The high school is 20 miles from her current primary

Ok thanks. I’m just struggling to understand because if I rented my home out and genuinely lived in the “right area” paying council tax and having all my bank and gp etc registered there, then I literally live there iyswim. Would I have to sell my home for this not to be breaking rules?

Does everyone get checked? I don't remember anyone asking me for a tenancy agreement. Just added schools and address and got the place (well within catchment). This is just out of curiosity though. OP no I don't think you should do this as you would be depriving another child of the place.

Be careful. People who find out will inform the local authority. I work in admissions. People make fraudulent applications, other parents find out, they tell us. We investigate. Sometimes this takes time and if found to be fraudulent the place will be removed, it could then be after all other places have been filled so you will be allocated whatever they can that is left, which is unlikely to be the highest offer you'd have got if you'd applied legitimately.

I always despair of these parents, how do you explain to your child that their school place is being removed because you acted dishonestly? Sometimes uniform and transition days have taken place, it happens and it is sad to see.

Offers differ each year, I would save yourself a lot of angst and worry and apply correctly and you may get the offer you want.
School places are allocated to local children for a reason.

I would ask myself ‘what would Jesus do’?

I think if you sold your house and lived in the rented house full time you’d be fine, but you’ve left it too late to do this. Applications need to be done by the end of Oct.

Thanks. So if I sell my house and rent, do they then have any control over where I choose to live in six months/ a year/ after theee years? At what point could I buy another home in the affordable area again without it being against the rules.

I mean dd is in an oversubscribed primary that we got into based on proximity of home to school. After year four we moved well out of catchment, but they didn’t say she had to leave her primary. So how far would she need to get through high school before I was allowed to buy somewhere I can afford?

No that's fine. You can move but you have to be able to prove it was a permanent move, so selling your house would cover this. As would renting it out on a long term contract (our local authority requires 24 months I think).
They will want details of your council tax, possibly electricity bills to show someone is actually living at the new address. They will be suspicious if you have kept the old GP, or if your child still attends the old school.