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| Who will open new grammar schools and will they boost social mobility? | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Will there be a grammar school in every town in England? | Will there be a grammar school in every town in England? |
| Potentially, yes. Theresa May has announced a £50m fund to allow existing grammar schools to expand. That will encourage places that have been lobbying to follow the example of Sevenoaks, in Kent, where a new grammar school annexe was approved this year. May also suggested new selective schools could be opened, and that existing schools could revise their admissions policies to allow selection. If the government gets legislation in place later this year, the first new selective schools could be admitting pupils as early as autumn 2018. | Potentially, yes. Theresa May has announced a £50m fund to allow existing grammar schools to expand. That will encourage places that have been lobbying to follow the example of Sevenoaks, in Kent, where a new grammar school annexe was approved this year. May also suggested new selective schools could be opened, and that existing schools could revise their admissions policies to allow selection. If the government gets legislation in place later this year, the first new selective schools could be admitting pupils as early as autumn 2018. |
| May said the new breed of grammars would help increase social mobility. The Ofsted head Sir Michael Wilshaw calls that “tosh and nonsense”. Who’s right? | May said the new breed of grammars would help increase social mobility. The Ofsted head Sir Michael Wilshaw calls that “tosh and nonsense”. Who’s right? |
| The evidence is with Wilshaw. Grammar schools now and in the past have admitted very few secondary pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. Moreover, those who fail to get into grammars do worse than in non-selective areas. May claims that “the new grammars of the future” will avoid these problems. | The evidence is with Wilshaw. Grammar schools now and in the past have admitted very few secondary pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. Moreover, those who fail to get into grammars do worse than in non-selective areas. May claims that “the new grammars of the future” will avoid these problems. |
| How does the expansion of religious schools fit in? | How does the expansion of religious schools fit in? |
| May also announced that new faith schools would be able to select their entire intake on the basis of religion, abolishing the current 50% cap on the use of religious tests in admissions. This will be warmly welcomed by Catholic educationalists and Orthodox Jewish groups, who opposed free schools because of the cap. Because Catholic schools have a good academic track record, May must hope more of them will be opened. But new grammar schools are likely to attract the brightest pupils from Catholic families as well. | May also announced that new faith schools would be able to select their entire intake on the basis of religion, abolishing the current 50% cap on the use of religious tests in admissions. This will be warmly welcomed by Catholic educationalists and Orthodox Jewish groups, who opposed free schools because of the cap. Because Catholic schools have a good academic track record, May must hope more of them will be opened. But new grammar schools are likely to attract the brightest pupils from Catholic families as well. |
| Will English universities be forced to sponsor schools? | Will English universities be forced to sponsor schools? |
| Possibly. A surprising element of May’s speech was a new demand that universities open or sponsor schools as part of their efforts to widen participation and justify future tuition fee increases. Some, such as the University of Chester, already sponsor free schools but have had little success in raising standards. But what makes this policy confusing is that the government currently wants to use university teaching excellence measures to grant fee increases. Will May’s announcement on requiring universities to support schools replace or supplement that? And will the costs of support be met from undergraduate tuition fees, as other access schemes are? | Possibly. A surprising element of May’s speech was a new demand that universities open or sponsor schools as part of their efforts to widen participation and justify future tuition fee increases. Some, such as the University of Chester, already sponsor free schools but have had little success in raising standards. But what makes this policy confusing is that the government currently wants to use university teaching excellence measures to grant fee increases. Will May’s announcement on requiring universities to support schools replace or supplement that? And will the costs of support be met from undergraduate tuition fees, as other access schemes are? |
| Who will open new grammar schools? | Who will open new grammar schools? |
| A difficult question to answer at this point. The former education secretary Michael Gove took away local authorities’ powers to open new schools. Most obviously, the government would like academy chains to sponsor or build new grammar schools – and some chains may see it as a way of reviving struggling schools. Whether leading chains such as Ark and Harris follow suit is not clear. | A difficult question to answer at this point. The former education secretary Michael Gove took away local authorities’ powers to open new schools. Most obviously, the government would like academy chains to sponsor or build new grammar schools – and some chains may see it as a way of reviving struggling schools. Whether leading chains such as Ark and Harris follow suit is not clear. |