A grammar school has been told to stop demanding parents show tenancy documents as it could disadvantage low-income families. Entry requirements for the Royal Grammar School (RGS) in High Wycombe said parents leasing properties in its catchment area had to prove they would stay at the address for the first six months of their child鈥檚 studies. They would also 鈥渉ave to provide a tenancy agreement from an approved letting agent鈥. RGS bosses insisted the requirements would help them to crackdown on 鈥渇raudulent applications鈥 and ensure 鈥渇amilies continued to have a link to the area鈥 once their child started year 7. Parents admit breaking application rules A survey last year by property website Zoopla found a quarter of parents admitted breaking school application rules to secure places. Eight per cent said they temporarily rented a second home within a catchment area in their effort to get their child into their preferred primary or secondary. But an anonymous objection claiming that 鈥渕any genuine tenants鈥 would be unable to meet the criteria was . 鈥淭he policy requires a tenancy agreement provided by an approved letting agent. This requirement excludes and disadvantages tenants who rent directly from a private landlord,鈥 it argued. Grammar school: ‘Only way to ensure parents have link to area’ 鈥淭he only practical way those who are already renting can comply is to leave their current property and move into one that is rented through an approved letting agent.鈥 The objector also stated that to meet RGS requirements, tenancies 鈥渕ust start before September 2023 and end after March 2025鈥, which 鈥渆xceeds the length of standard fixed-term tenancies鈥 that were often between six and 12 months. During his investigation into the complaint, adjudicator Robert Cawley found just two of Buckinghamshire鈥檚 12 other grammars had similar entry requirements. RGS stressed the schools decided 鈥渢his was the only way to ensure that families continued to have a link to the area once their child had commenced an education鈥 with them. It had seen 鈥渟everal annual examples鈥 of families living in the catchment area when they applied to the school, 鈥渙nly to find that they live many miles away once their son has started鈥 at the secondary. Criteria branded ‘unreasonable’ 鈥淲e strive to be a selective school for local boys and we currently struggle to meet the needs of the catchment area.鈥 Buckinghamshire County Council 鈥 which coordinates admissions on RGS鈥檚 behalf 鈥 told Cawley 鈥渢hat the level of checking of addresses is constrained by the sheer volume of the applications鈥 it dealt with. Meanwhile, the authority said it did not expect proof 鈥渢he tenant will be living at the address at least six months after the proposed admission鈥. Instead, it asked for 鈥渁 current energy bill to evidence continued residence鈥 from the point of a place being offered鈥. Cawley concluded there was 鈥渘o lawful basis for imposing鈥 the rule, which was 鈥渃oncerned about fraudulent applications鈥. ‘Grammar school places threatened by rule-breakers’ Mark Fenton He also said the requirement for an approved letting agent was 鈥渦nreasonable鈥, as it did not allow applicants 鈥渢o provide evidence from a range of sources that they genuinely reside in the catchment area鈥. 鈥淚 have also found that the arrangements disadvantage unfairly a particular group, namely lower-income applicants, because they are less likely to be in a position to dictate the type of rental agreements they enter into.鈥 The schools admissions code states that RGS must revise its arrangements in the next two months. Mark Fenton, CEO of the Grammar School Heads Association, said schools are “quite right to take action on behalf of the vast majority of parents who play fair and whose child鈥檚 place at their preferred local school is threatened by others who choose [to] flout the rules”.