Would you lie to get your child into a school?

Do parents' morals become more 'flexible' where good schools are concerned? Photograph: Graham Turner/Guardian

Parents will do almost anything to get their child into the school they want. But a report in today's Guardian shows that local authorities will go to equally extreme lengths to make sure they don't flout the rules on admissions.

Poole borough council happily employed a spot of parental spying in its quest to outsmart parents prepared to bend the admissions rules.

It trailed a family over the course of nearly three weeks to make sure they weren't trying to swindle the system by falsely claiming they lived in a particular catchment area. And it has admitted to six other occasions of putting people under surveillance.

Councils are allowed to carry out surveillance only if they suspect serious crimes, including terrorism. Unlawful though it surely is, would you see lying to get your child into the school you want as a "serious crime"?

Aren't there more important things to be spying on? I know Poole is better known for the cost of the houses on its exclusive Sandbanks peninsula than its terrorist activity, but surely the money could be better spent?

How far would you go to get your child into a particular school?

Original here