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| What will Theresa May's new grammar schools look like? | What will Theresa May's new grammar schools look like? |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| As the prime minister sets out plans for an expansion of grammar schools, we look at different incarnations from the past to the future. | As the prime minister sets out plans for an expansion of grammar schools, we look at different incarnations from the past to the future. |
| The 1950s were without doubt the halcyon days of the grammar school system, with bright children from poorer backgrounds fast-tracked into schools thought suitable for their academic ability. | The 1950s were without doubt the halcyon days of the grammar school system, with bright children from poorer backgrounds fast-tracked into schools thought suitable for their academic ability. |
| Following the 1944 Education Act, secondary schools were reorganised into two basic types: | Following the 1944 Education Act, secondary schools were reorganised into two basic types: |
| There was a third type of school, the technical school - but very few were established. | There was a third type of school, the technical school - but very few were established. |
| Pupils who passed the controversial 11-plus exam were destined for university and better jobs, while those who failed trod a path towards less celebrated professions. | Pupils who passed the controversial 11-plus exam were destined for university and better jobs, while those who failed trod a path towards less celebrated professions. |
| The system covered the whole of England until the mid-1960s, when the Labour government ordered local education authorities to start phasing out grammar schools and secondary moderns. | The system covered the whole of England until the mid-1960s, when the Labour government ordered local education authorities to start phasing out grammar schools and secondary moderns. |
| They were to replace them with a comprehensive system - where children of all abilities were to be taught together in the same schools. | They were to replace them with a comprehensive system - where children of all abilities were to be taught together in the same schools. |
| This phasing out happened at different paces, and a handful of local authorities decided to keep largely selective systems. | This phasing out happened at different paces, and a handful of local authorities decided to keep largely selective systems. |
| In 1998, Labour ruled out the creation of any new grammar schools, and limited any expansion in selection within other types of schools. | In 1998, Labour ruled out the creation of any new grammar schools, and limited any expansion in selection within other types of schools. |
| The reach and extent of grammar schools today is very patchy - a legacy from the different responses to the call for comprehensive education and the fact that many grammars converted to independent schools. | The reach and extent of grammar schools today is very patchy - a legacy from the different responses to the call for comprehensive education and the fact that many grammars converted to independent schools. |
| In total in England there are 164 grammar schools today - but more than two-thirds of England's 150 local authorities have none at all. | In total in England there are 164 grammar schools today - but more than two-thirds of England's 150 local authorities have none at all. |
| And the areas that do have at least some grammar schools tend to be in more affluent parts of the south of England. | And the areas that do have at least some grammar schools tend to be in more affluent parts of the south of England. |
| Areas such as Kent, Medway, Buckinghamshire and Lincolnshire have selective systems where the 11-plus test is usually administered by the local authority. | Areas such as Kent, Medway, Buckinghamshire and Lincolnshire have selective systems where the 11-plus test is usually administered by the local authority. |
| Children either pass the test and get into a grammar or they do not. | Children either pass the test and get into a grammar or they do not. |
| But areas such as Gloucestershire, Trafford and Slough have a mix of selective and non-selective secondary schools. | But areas such as Gloucestershire, Trafford and Slough have a mix of selective and non-selective secondary schools. |
| Some London boroughs have one or two grammar schools, where the 11-plus tests is administered by the school itself. | Some London boroughs have one or two grammar schools, where the 11-plus tests is administered by the school itself. |
| Getting a grammar school place in these areas is particularly competitive, but overall there are between 10 and 15 applications per grammar school place, according to the Grammar School Association. | Getting a grammar school place in these areas is particularly competitive, but overall there are between 10 and 15 applications per grammar school place, according to the Grammar School Association. |
| In effect, what many schools do is skim off the most high-achieving pupils who sit the test. So if 1,500 youngsters sit the exam, those with the top 150 marks will get in. | In effect, what many schools do is skim off the most high-achieving pupils who sit the test. So if 1,500 youngsters sit the exam, those with the top 150 marks will get in. |
| Some say the current ban on opening new grammar schools has led to selection on merit being replaced with selection on financial grounds, because middle-class parents can pay for intensive tutoring for the 11-plus. | Some say the current ban on opening new grammar schools has led to selection on merit being replaced with selection on financial grounds, because middle-class parents can pay for intensive tutoring for the 11-plus. |
| Grammar schools in these mixed areas are sitting in a backdrop of many more different school types today. | Grammar schools in these mixed areas are sitting in a backdrop of many more different school types today. |
| Not only are there "bog-standard" comprehensives - now known as community schools - but academies and schools with specialist subjects that are allowed to select a small percentage of pupils by their aptitude for that subject. | |
| And there are free schools, which cannot select by ability, but can promote an ethos more like a traditional grammar school if they so wish. | And there are free schools, which cannot select by ability, but can promote an ethos more like a traditional grammar school if they so wish. |
| Following the 1998 ban on the creation of new grammar schools, many of the remaining grammars, responding to demand, have expanded their numbers. | Following the 1998 ban on the creation of new grammar schools, many of the remaining grammars, responding to demand, have expanded their numbers. |
| Between 2002 and 2008, the number of grammar school places grew by 30,000 - the equivalent of 30 new schools. | Between 2002 and 2008, the number of grammar school places grew by 30,000 - the equivalent of 30 new schools. |
| Then, in late 2015, the then Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan, gave permission for the Weald of Kent Grammar School in Tonbridge Wells to open an "annexe" on a site several miles away in Sevenoaks. | Then, in late 2015, the then Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan, gave permission for the Weald of Kent Grammar School in Tonbridge Wells to open an "annexe" on a site several miles away in Sevenoaks. |
| This was seen by many commentators as setting a precedent and paving the way for a new wave of grammar schools. | This was seen by many commentators as setting a precedent and paving the way for a new wave of grammar schools. |
| Since then, no others have expanded on to satellite sites, but there are a number of schools, including one in Theresa May's constituency, that wish to do so. | Since then, no others have expanded on to satellite sites, but there are a number of schools, including one in Theresa May's constituency, that wish to do so. |
| Although the prime minister has ruled out a wholesale return to a "binary system", there is no doubt that an expansion of selective schooling is on the cards. | Although the prime minister has ruled out a wholesale return to a "binary system", there is no doubt that an expansion of selective schooling is on the cards. |
| For any new wave of grammar schools to be palatable to more than just a certain section of the Conservative Party, Mrs May needs to tackle head on the claims that they have become the preserve of pushy, middle class families. | For any new wave of grammar schools to be palatable to more than just a certain section of the Conservative Party, Mrs May needs to tackle head on the claims that they have become the preserve of pushy, middle class families. |
| She needs to make them appear to be the engines of social mobility that they once were seen as. | She needs to make them appear to be the engines of social mobility that they once were seen as. |
| "They will have to introduce some conditions that will prevent these schools being swamped by families with money," says Robert McCartney, chairman of the National Grammar Schools Association. | "They will have to introduce some conditions that will prevent these schools being swamped by families with money," says Robert McCartney, chairman of the National Grammar Schools Association. |
| But grammar school heads are already trying to broaden their intake in a number of ways and have been talking to the Department for Education about the ways in which they may do this for some years. | But grammar school heads are already trying to broaden their intake in a number of ways and have been talking to the Department for Education about the ways in which they may do this for some years. |
| Of the 163 grammar schools in England, more than 70 will give some form of priority to disadvantaged pupils from next year, says Jim Skinner of the Grammar School Heads Association. | Of the 163 grammar schools in England, more than 70 will give some form of priority to disadvantaged pupils from next year, says Jim Skinner of the Grammar School Heads Association. |
| This year, it is about 30 schools. | This year, it is about 30 schools. |
| King Edward VI Grammar School in Birmingham, a chain of five schools, has led the way, having just admitted its second cohort of pupils with a quota for children on the pupil premium. | King Edward VI Grammar School in Birmingham, a chain of five schools, has led the way, having just admitted its second cohort of pupils with a quota for children on the pupil premium. |
| In this case, they have lowered the test requirements for disadvantaged pupils. | In this case, they have lowered the test requirements for disadvantaged pupils. |
| This may be the way it goes in some areas with a patchwork system. | This may be the way it goes in some areas with a patchwork system. |
| But it has only been enabled by a change in the admissions code allowing schools to give priority to children of families who qualify for certain benefits. | But it has only been enabled by a change in the admissions code allowing schools to give priority to children of families who qualify for certain benefits. |
| For this to go further and include a broader range of low income families, another change in the code would be required. | For this to go further and include a broader range of low income families, another change in the code would be required. |
| However, in areas where the local authority administers the 11-plus test, the council could decide to prioritise low income children, potentially by broadening the ability range that qualify for a grammar place. | However, in areas where the local authority administers the 11-plus test, the council could decide to prioritise low income children, potentially by broadening the ability range that qualify for a grammar place. |
| Areas such as these are sending between 20% and 25% of their most able children to their grammar schools. | Areas such as these are sending between 20% and 25% of their most able children to their grammar schools. |
| Currently, there is also a system of head teacher review in some selective counties. | Currently, there is also a system of head teacher review in some selective counties. |
| This is where primary school head teachers put forward a number of disadvantaged children who may not have done well enough in the test, but who they feel show promise. | This is where primary school head teachers put forward a number of disadvantaged children who may not have done well enough in the test, but who they feel show promise. |