last minute arrivals for distance proximity

[bluepeach]

Bogus renters should be flushed out. It is our duty as local residents to report them to the appropriate authorities. I myself know of a few people who are bogus.

However I see no problem with people who have genuinely sold up and moved into the area to secure a place at a good school. As long as they meet all the criteria, what's the problem?

[thumbelina]

bogus renters includes those who orchestrate a rental for a year soley to gain a place at a school with every intention to return to their original home.

someone who moves in and buys is legitimate and a renter who has been in the local area is in my mind ok too....so long as i dont see a move to a different address the following sept.

i am sorry to say that i too have reported 2 cases in my dd school. one is a child from harrow who has 5 younger siblings. every intention to return to harrow next sept...i suspect.

[zakira]

How is renting a house with a view to securing a school place any different to buying a house for the same reason.

Good luck to both people I say.

[ToadMum]

Buying a house is generally seen as more of a commitment than renting, although I have met people who buy and sell on a near-annual basis. I think the point raised by the OP concerns people who rent temporarily just to conform with the residence requirements for their desired school, with no intention of remaining in the area once their object has been achieved.

[Cutting42]

I work in the USA a great deal and in most areas in the USA you need to live in the catchment area for your school at all times. If you move, you get kicked out of the school!

Can you imagine the uproar here if that happened.

[BaldPeg]

I work in the USA a great deal and in most areas in the USA you need to live in the catchment area for your school at all times. If you move, you get kicked out of the school!

You are confusing proximity with catchment area.

For instance, if you live in Rickmansworth you are in the catchment area for both Watford Grammar Schools. However, your child would not get a place in either school on proximity, because you do not live close enough. The people on here who refer to 'bogus' renters are not talking about people who do not live in the catchment area. The catchment area for these schools is large and extends into parts of Harrow.

The people who are objecting refer - for the most part - to local people who temporarily move closer to the school of choice to improve their chances of securing a place for their children. Many of these people are not acting illegally, but many people who live in the school's immediate area think it is unfair. I am not aware of any child in my son's school who has gained a place from outside the catchment area.

The families who go out of their way to help their children secure a good education in this way face two potential risks:

1. That they (and their children) will find themselves at the thick end of vexatious complaints from parents of other 'more deserving' children.
2. That however close their 'bogus' new home is to the school it might not be close enough. A lot of new homes have sprung up around WBGS in the last few years and with the reintroduction of the cross sibling rule (for which I am much in favour with my son having a younger sister) the area of proximity is likely to contract significantly.

In my opinion, both the proximity rule and the cross sibling rule are unfair. The first does not benefit my family at all, but the second does. Before anyone asks if this means I will be sending my daughter to another school, the answer is 'No' she will be going to WGGS even though we live several miles away (but still well within catchment).

[2Girlsmum]

One of our local non-selectives, Fortismere, had a catchment area of 190m (approx) 3 years ago partly due to siblings. Property near the school can cost £60,000 more than outside the area as it's the best school in the borough(!)

[Parent68]

Schools may want to follow what DAO does, which is to check addresses where parents have submitted repeated applications over the years giving rise to suspicion that these are "professional" landlord who put their house up for tenancy in August or September every year, hoping to land that year's bogus resident.

I know one house 140 metres away from a school where a family moved in last year, got the place for their DD and moved out end of March this year, right after getting the allocation!!! So, they are really bogus residents who displaced one local child. The child has a sibling who will enter the school two years from now.

My focus is on that house and the landlord. Now it has a new tenant, since May 2012. Let's see what happens.

[Parent68]

One of our local non-selectives, Fortismere, had a catchment area of 190m (approx) 3 years ago partly due to siblings. Property near the school can cost £60,000 more than outside the area as it's the best school in the borough(!)

For that much money, one can educate a DS at a public school, unless of course you have 6 DCs!

[Parent68]

We the parents, as the residents and rate payers to councils in Herts must and have the right to demand that bogus renters and owners are flushed out once and for all. To achieve this I recommend the following:

Once ascertained to be valid resident, one shall be entitled to gain admission to the local school via proximity and distance rules.

Once admitted to the school, the place shall be given up to another child if the parents choose to move out of their house at any point in time before the child finishes year 13. This only happens if they move outside the furthest distance of their respective Year 7 intake.

The replacement child shall be one who is currently on the waiting list, chosen based on distance.

The child whose parents chose to move after gaining admission can only stay in the partially selective school if no other children want to take up his or her place.

The above only applies to those who gained a place via proximity or distance rule.