Would You Move, Rent Or Bend The Truth To Get A School Place?

The BBC has reported today that a council which was the first to prosecute a mother for lying on an admissions form to get her son into a good local state school has had to drop the charges. The woman in question gave her mother’s address when applying to the school, despite only living there for four weeks.

We all know that houses within the catchment areas of the best schools tend to be much more sought after – and therefore potentially much more expensive – than those either out of catchment areas or close to schools that parents would do anything to avoid sending their children to. So, if you do live outside the catchment area of the school you want your child to go to, what do you do?

Either you’re lucky enough to have sufficient funds to move nearer the school. Or you cheat. I know parents who have bent the rules when getting their children into a good school – some have rented nearby (and rented their own homes out in the meantime). Others have bought rental properties nearby and used these addresses to apply from – covering the mortgage on the property itself by letting it out to renters. And then, of course, some people just stay temporarily with friends or family who live within the catchment area.

So what’s fair and what’s clearly not? It’s not fair – but perfectly legal – that people who can afford to buy a house near the school do so when others can’t. But then, it’s our desire to send our kids to good schools that drives the house prices up in these areas. It’s not fair that people buy a rental property in which they pretend to live so that they can apply to the school they want their children to go to. But how can local councils police every single application to find out if they are really living there? And it’s not fair that children who go to good schools because their parents are either wealthy or lucky enough to be able to send them there grow up to be better paid, better educated adults, who then ensure their children go to good schools, too. But then that’s capitalism for you.

So, just how far would you go?

Permalink||(0) Comments