Some parents will go to any lengths to get the school of their choice

Gerard Mulligan, of the Holy Cross Roman Catholic school in Fulham, west London, signed a form for the deputy, whose daughter attended the school.

He has been given a final written warning by a committee of the church's Westminster diocese.

His deputy Margaret Gillespie kept her job despite being found out.

On her application form for the heavily over-subscribed Lady Margaret Church of England School in Fulham, she gave the family address as the caretaker's flat at the Holy Cross School.

In reality, she lived several miles away in Brentford.

An investigation resulted in Mrs Gillespie being given a formal warning but keeping her position.

No collusion

A second independent investigation was then launched into allegations that the head teacher had colluded in the deception, but the diocese said no evidence of this had been found.

A joint statement from the archdiocese of Westminster and the governing body of the Holy Cross school said Mr Mulligan had been "guilty of negligence in discharging his duty".

It continued: "It is vital for parents and schools to have full confidence in the secondary school admissions system.

"This requires all those involved to play their full part in ensuring the integrity of the system. In a Catholic school, nothing less is compatible with the school's mission."

The fraudulent application was made before the introduction of the pan-London admissions system last autumn, whereby parents now fill in just one form with all their choices.

In the past, separate applications would have been made to church schools.