School admissions: Your views

BBC News website readers have been sending in their reaction to a London council's decision not to prosecute a parent for allegedly lying on a schools admission form.

Many parents complain that the systems for selecting school places are unfair. Should parents be praised or punished for trying to get the best educational opportunities for their children?

This is an extraordinary widespread problem that doesn't get more attention because it tends to be middle class people committing fraud. I know lots of parents who have shamelessly used other addresses and lied about their circumstances in order for their children to benefit at the expense of others. They should be prosecuted in exactly the same way that benefit cheats are.
Tom, UK

This problem is rife in my hometown of Walsall and it's been going on for years. I know of one Primary school where many of the children are 'living with grandparents or aunts and uncles'. Of course, people would not commit this deception if there were more schools of a good standard.
Angela Steatham, Walsall

We moved out of the city and sold our house all to get our children into better schools. We can't afford to buy anything in the area and we will have to rent long term for the sake of our kids' education. It's a worry when we have no security of tenure but better than coping with the huge problems city state schools would cause for our children.
A Scott, Glos.

My daughter starts her final year of junior school in September. We currently live in a highly regarded location however our current senior catchment school is one of the poorest performing schools in the area. Consequently we have been trying to sell our house, which we love, for over 14 months and have so far dropped the asking price by over £60 000 and it's still not moving. We thought about the family and friends address approach and using their address when we do not actually live there, however we are law abiding and dismissed it as being unethical; although house-swapping with friends could be a legal alternative. The catchment or appeal system is wrong, and there should be a certain percentage of children allowed in a school who are high performers and want to be there to learn - they would be an asset to the school.
Stuart, Nuneaton, UK

I moved to the catchment of a good school because I can afford it. This is unfair on those with low incomes. A much fairer way to allocate places is by a meritocratic system. Applicants should take intelligence and aptitude tests.... or shall we just carry on letting parents with high incomes hog the good schools without reference to the abilities of the pupil?
Ken Charman, Wokingham

It annoys me when people who live far away from the school take up places from the ones living locally. I understand that this woman would want to get her child into a good school, but clearly by doing this she is taking a place from a child who lives close by, which in my opinion is truly selfish.
Dylan, Middlesex

My daughter did not get into our choice of Primary school because we were outside the catchment area. I would never have given false information but do know people that have. We appealed the decision and failed even though our daughter has a hearing problem. Consequently, my daughter went to a school we would never have considered for her, a school where she knew no one, where she struggled to keep up with her classmates and now she is well behind where she should be for her age.
Louise Pilkington, Kidderminster, Worcestershire

It's disappointing that Harrow council put so much energy into fighting this case and appearing self righteous when they should be looking at why the other schools in their borough aren't as sought after. Parents shouldn't have to fight to get a good education for their children.
Katie Duncan, Barnet

I can understand why people lie to get their children in to good schools. We should all be happy to send our child to the local school, why aren't we? It's not that some schools are a little better than others, there is a massive difference.
Alicia Stott , Halifax, West Yorkshire

My son's primary school hit rock bottom before investment was made available and a fantastic headmaster brought in to turn the school around to one of now "outstanding" quality. It is possible to offer fantastic schooling against the odds, yet so many schools seem to be left out of the game, which leads to good parents, like Mrs Patel resorting to desperate measures.
L Tompkins, UK

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