Leading article: Admissions abuse

The extraordinary lengths that schools will go to in order to select the best pupils by stealth were revealed this week in a report by the education think tank Iris. Dubious tactics used by schools include specifying expensive uniform providers, assessing parents' affluence when they visit and hinting at the requirement to donate generously to the school fund.

The report comes after Ruth Kelly offered a ban on school interviews as a compromise for Labour rebel MPs who threaten to vote against her forthcoming Education Bill. The Iris report shows that the current admission rules are being abused. A tightening up of the rules is long overdue.