Parents lying to gain access to best teaching

An increasing number of parents have been caught telling lies in order to get their children into popular schools, new research has revealed.

According to Local Government Association (LGA) figures, 24 of the 31 councils involved in the survey reported an increase in parents cheating to gain access to the best teaching.

Chairman of the Children and Young People Board of the LGA, councillor Les Lawrence, revealed that the growing reports of deception were becoming a concern.

"There appears to be an emerging and worrying trend of parents willing to break the law in order to try and get their children into the best schools," he said.

"While everyone wants the best for their children, parents who are willing to go beyond the law means that other law-abiding parents and children miss out."

Mr Lawrence added: "Unfortunately, many high-performing schools are oversubscribed and therefore attract fraudulent applications."

The report also revealed that instances of cheating to gain access to schools were almost three times higher than they were 12 months ago.