Half of parents would move house and a sizeable minority say that they would lie in order to get their child into a good state school, according to a study on the pressures of family life.

Researchers found that the postcode lottery that operates in education meant that parents were resorting to such desperate measures as pretending that they were religious or lying about where they lived, to get a child into a decent school.

One in seven parents said they would give false information if they thought it would increase their child’s chances of getting into a good school, a figure that rose to 23 per cent in London, while 51 per cent said they would be willing to move to a new neighbourhood. The study was conducted by GfK/NOP on behalf of the Good Childhood Inquiry, the two-year research project undertaken by The Children’s Society charity into the lives of young people in Britain.

Bob Reitemeier, the chief executive of The Children’s Society, said that the desperate actions of parents would have serious consequences for education in Britain, and were leading to a two-tier system. “The lengths that parents are prepared to go to clearly indicate that there are huge variations in school standards,” he said.

“But for many parents, the costly exercise of moving house to get their child into a good school is simply not an option. The current system is in danger of embedding inequality by making a child’s social class and economic circumstances the key influence in their educational success.”

The Conservatives said that the findings showed that there were not enough good schools. “Too many children do not have access to schools with the proven successful characteristics such as setting by ability and a strong approach to discipline,” said Nick Gibb, a Conservative education spokesman. “There is no reason why schools in disadvantaged areas shouldn’t perform well — we need to start by spreading best practice from the most successful schools.”

The Government has gone to extraordinary lengths to try to stop parents “playing the system”. It toughened up the admissions code two years ago, but schools admit that some parents will seek new ways of getting round the obstacles.

Although only about six per cent of children attend independent schools, the poll found many more parents would go private if the fees did not stand in the way. Almost half (44 per cent) said they would send their children to a private school if they could afford to and that figure was more than half (52 per cent) in London.

The report found that poorer children were far less likely to have a good school in their neighbourhood than middle-class children. Only forty-four per cent of children eligible for free school meals had a good school among their closest three schools compared with 61 per cent of those whose parents were better off.

Evidence submitted to the inquiry showed that although levels of attainment have been rising steadily over the last 20 years and more pupils are staying on after 16, certain groups continue to lag behind. Bright children from disadvantaged homes who were outperforming their peers as toddlers are overtaken by children in better-off families by the age of six.

Meanwhile sixty-seven per cent of parents were concerned that there was far more emphasis on exams today than when they were at school.

Times Recommends

• UK regional accents thrive against the odds
• ‘Scarecrow’ wind farms put rare birds to flight
• What an anti-climax: G-spot is a myth