Southwark Primary School Admissions for Sept 2013

[number 2]

Great news ryekids! Congratulations!!!

[edcase]

This thread came up on a search and I just wanted to revive the discussion further up the thread around the acceptability or otherwise of renting to be near a preferred school.

We were thinking of renting out our house next year and moving closer to our preferred school because proximity is one of the admissions criteria. The school says short-term rental is not allowed, but what about longer term rental?

Going by the earlier comments, this seems to be frowned upon, or even against the rules, but why is a decision to rent any different from selling and buying nearby? If we rent for a minimum of a year, doesn?t that satisfy the ?no short-term? rental criteria? It was suggested that the offer of a place could be withdrawn if you have another property ? is this really the case in Southwark and is it documented anywhere?

I expect I?ll cop some flak for what we?re proposing, but it is a genuine long-term plan and buying and selling in that time is not really an option.

[alieh]

They do check that you don't have a second property, but if you showed you had rented out your existing property with proof of a rental agreement for at least a year and had your own long-term rental agreement on a new house, I would imagine that would have to suffice?

They can withdraw the offer if it is found to have been made based on fraudulent information, but if both of the rental agreements are genuine and for at least 12 months I think that would be fine?

One thing to keep in mind is that if you're planning to move back to your original house at some point down the line and then commute to the school then this would become obvious to other people in the class (play dates, etc.) and it may be frowned upon if people know neighbours, etc. who live very near but didn't get a place in the school. Just something to bear in mind.

[LondonMix]

Are you eventually planning to buy near the school or will you eventually go back to your house?

If the latter, then there is a huge difference. You effectively are just trying to game the system to take a place that should go to a local child. You want the local school without having to commit to living near it. And I would heap scorn on you if you did that....

edcase Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> This thread came up on a search and I just wanted

> to revive the discussion further up the thread

> around the acceptability or otherwise of renting

> to be near a preferred school.

>

> We were thinking of renting out our house next

> year and moving closer to our preferred school

> because proximity is one of the admissions

> criteria. The school says short-term rental is not

> allowed, but what about longer term rental?

>

> Going by the earlier comments, this seems to be

> frowned upon, or even against the rules, but why

> is a decision to rent any different from selling

> and buying nearby? If we rent for a minimum of a

> year, doesn?t that satisfy the ?no short-term?

> rental criteria? It was suggested that the offer

> of a place could be withdrawn if you have another

> property ? is this really the case in Southwark

> and is it documented anywhere?

>

> I expect I?ll cop some flak for what we?re

> proposing, but it is a genuine long-term plan and

> buying and selling in that time is not really an

> option.

[Otta]

Cool people don't tend to buy then move a year later. Renting for a year is still short term.

People looking for a home to rent may well consider proximity to schooks, just kije buyers would, and that is fair enough. What youre describing is different though, it's not a home you're after, it's just an advantage you're buying.

It's a shitty thing to do, and just another way that people with most money can play the system for their own benefit. This is even worse than people with no religious beliefs taking their kids to church in order to secure a place in a good church school.

At the end of the day, it's behaviour like this that causes people like the ones on this thread to miss out all together on local school places.

The system is far from perfect, but it's onky maee worse by wankers looking for loopholes!

[etta166]

Has anyone actually had to provide any proof of address to Southwark? My son started recetion in September, and we haven't been asked for any proof of address...

As for shcool tourism, rather than getting hot and bothered on the forum you could campaign to have the rules changed. E.g. if you didn't get a sibling priority place unless you were still residing at the same address as when you applied for the first child, that would quickly put an end to renting near a school and then moving away again (OK, except for only children...). It would also let people who have not moved but no longer live close enough to a school for a distance-only place to keep siblings together.

Maybe there are other creative solutions to make sure that places go to genuinely long-term local families. Suggest away and start a campaing to make it a better system with fewer loopholes to exploit.

[alieh]

In Lewisham we had to provide the proof of address with application, but this seems different than Southwark.