How hundreds of parents are telling lies to get their children into best schools

At least 60 families a year are caught lying on application forms for some of the most popular schools in London, and experts warn that many more are likely to be getting away with it.

There are fears that the trend will increase as parents opt for state education to save on private fees in the recession. Sue Fieldman, London editor at the Good Schools Guide, said: "Sixty might get caught, but you could put at least one nought on the end of that for those who don't.

"The sort who do it are intelligent, middle-class parents who will stretch every single boundary to try to get their children into some of these schools, even to the extent of being fraudulent. I think it's going to get worse with the financial squeeze."

Affluent areas such as Richmond suffered most because they had the best schools, she said. Friday is the deadline for 80,000 children to apply to state secondaries in London.

The Standard investigation revealed:

At least 121 fraudulent applications were detected last year and this year across the 18 boroughs that gave figures; but almost half of councils did not record the scale of the problem, or were unable to supply statistics.

Richmond was worst affected, with 49 false applications in the two years.

Lewisham recorded 20 fraudulent applications starting this year; Hackney detected about 30 over the two years; Havering found eight, Sutton five. Others were caught cheating in Waltham Forest, Kingston, Lambeth and Croydon.

According to the Local Government Association, three quarters of councils in England have seen an increase in fraudulent applications since 2006.

Councils fear they have few legal options to enforce the rules after the first attempt to prosecute a parent for fraud collapsed. Harrow charged a mother under the Fraud Act 2006, which says fraud is committed when a person "dishonestly makes a false representation, and intends, by doing so, to make a gain for himself or another, or to cause loss to another or to expose another to a risk of loss".

But Harrow dropped the case amid concern that it would not be possible to demonstrate "gain" or "loss" with regard to school places. Within weeks the school admissions watchdog is due to publish a report on fraudulent applications and if rules should be tighter.

Cheats' tactics include renting flats in schools' catchment areas while they apply, then moving out once the children have places. Others use a relative's address. Some parents claim they have split up but that the child is living with one parent in the catchment zone.

Councils have even used surveillance powers to check that addresses on application forms are genuine. But once a child has been in a school for more than a term, they are usually allowed to stay, even if cheating is uncovered.

Schools Minister Diana Johnson said: "The admissions code is clear that if parents give fraudulent or intentionally misleading information the place could well be withdrawn."