DESPERATE parents are going to extraordinary lengths to get their children into private schools, subverting enrolment procedures they say unfairly favour the brightest students. From donating tens of thousands of dollars worth of sporting equipment to lying about their religious faith, nothing is off the table. Family connections and being enrolled since birth are no longer guarantees in a fight for placements that has become obsessive . Meanwhile, huge sums are being spent tutoring children as young as seven ahead of international exams that pit them against peers in Asia and give them an edge on NAPLAN, key determinants of enrolment success.