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Comps aren’t helping social mobility. So why not bring back selection? Comps aren’t helping social mobility. So why not bring back selection?
(about 1 hour later)
As pupils across England and Wales learn where they will be going to secondary school, two separate studies have shown that the wealth divide in education is more entrenched than ever, with children from poorer households far less likely to attend the best-performing schools.As pupils across England and Wales learn where they will be going to secondary school, two separate studies have shown that the wealth divide in education is more entrenched than ever, with children from poorer households far less likely to attend the best-performing schools.
Teach First, the charity that places high-flying graduates in schools in deprived areas found children from poor families are half as likely to attend an outstanding school as their richer contemporaries, while the Sutton Trust, the education thinktank that focuses on social mobility, found poorer children are much less likely to attend any of the 500 top-performing comprehensive schools, as judged by GCSE grades. While 17% qualify for free school meals – the standard gauge of low family income – only 9% of those attending the top 500 do. Teach First, the charity that places high-flying graduates in schools in deprived areas, found children from poorer families are half as likely to attend an outstanding school as their richer contemporaries, while the Sutton Trust, the education thinktank that focuses on social mobility, found poorer children are much less likely to attend any of the 500 top-performing comprehensive schools, as judged by GCSE grades. While 17% of pupils qualify for free school meals – the standard gauge of low family income – only 9% of those attending the top 500 do.
In one respect the findings will seem unremarkable. A side-effect of ending selection at 11 was to strengthen the diktat of catchment areas, and this reinforces itself over time. You only have to look at estate agent listings to see that a particularly good school, especially a good secondary school, is a selling point, with the result that homes in the – ever-shrinking – catchment area carry a premium that can be tens of thousands of pounds. Those living outside the area may be tempted to use stratagems of various kinds – from a temporary rent to outright deceit – to qualify their child for the school of their choice.In one respect the findings will seem unremarkable. A side-effect of ending selection at 11 was to strengthen the diktat of catchment areas, and this reinforces itself over time. You only have to look at estate agent listings to see that a particularly good school, especially a good secondary school, is a selling point, with the result that homes in the – ever-shrinking – catchment area carry a premium that can be tens of thousands of pounds. Those living outside the area may be tempted to use stratagems of various kinds – from a temporary rent to outright deceit – to qualify their child for the school of their choice.
What the Sutton Trust found, however, was something that should raise more concerns. Using the National Pupil Database, it found that more than 85% of the top 500 comprehensives schools took an even smaller proportion of poorer pupils than lived in the immediate area. What this suggests is that poorer families are deterred, for whatever reason – uniform prices, a feeling their child might not fit in – from applying for those schools, or that these schools are managing – despite not being allowed to select by academic ability – to choose pupils according to their family background. According to the Sutton Trust, only about half the difference in the proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals reflects the wealth, or otherwise, of the catchment areas; the rest, it concludes, is down to social selection. What the Sutton Trust found, however, was something that should raise more concerns. Using the National Pupil Database, it found that more than 85% of the top 500 comprehensives schools took an even smaller proportion of poorer pupils than lived in the immediate area. What this suggests is that poorer families are deterred, for whatever reason – uniform prices, a feeling their child might not fit in – from applying for those schools, or that these schools are managing, despite not being allowed to select by academic ability, to choose pupils according to their family background. According to the Sutton Trust, only about half the difference in the proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals reflects the wealth, or otherwise, of the catchment areas; the rest, it concludes, is down to social selection.
The educational prospects of poorer children, it can be argued, have long been limited in the UK, but especially in England, with a relatively large and expensive private school sector, compared with most other European countries, and the generally better performance of children from wealthier families in the 11-plus.The educational prospects of poorer children, it can be argued, have long been limited in the UK, but especially in England, with a relatively large and expensive private school sector, compared with most other European countries, and the generally better performance of children from wealthier families in the 11-plus.
But it should now be apparent that far from improving social mobility, the imposition of comprehensives almost everywhere is reducing it, and the adverse effect on poorer children is only growing. London for all sorts of reasons is a special case. But it should now be apparent that far from improving social mobility, the imposition of comprehensives almost everywhere is reducing it, and the adverse effect on poorer children is only growing. London, for all sorts of reasons, is a special case.
Increasing the number and independence of schools – academy status, encouragement of free schools – is one way recent governments have tried to address the unfairness, though the Sutton Trust’s latest findings hardly testify to success. A few authorities have introduced lotteries for the allocation of secondary school places – though it is too early to judge with what results. Until Theresa May broached the subject soon after she became prime minister, few have dared propose a return of grammar schools, or if they have, they have been shouted down.Increasing the number and independence of schools – academy status, encouragement of free schools – is one way recent governments have tried to address the unfairness, though the Sutton Trust’s latest findings hardly testify to success. A few authorities have introduced lotteries for the allocation of secondary school places – though it is too early to judge with what results. Until Theresa May broached the subject soon after she became prime minister, few have dared propose a return of grammar schools, or if they have, they have been shouted down.
May should have the courage of her convictions. One of the most compelling arguments against the reintroduction of grammars – and the academic selection that would entail – is that poorer children are less likely to win a place. Yet the Sutton Trust’s study shows that poorer children are at just as much of a disadvantage where admission to supposedly non-selective comprehensives is concerned.May should have the courage of her convictions. One of the most compelling arguments against the reintroduction of grammars – and the academic selection that would entail – is that poorer children are less likely to win a place. Yet the Sutton Trust’s study shows that poorer children are at just as much of a disadvantage where admission to supposedly non-selective comprehensives is concerned.
If comprehensives are not having the effect on social mobility that was claimed for them, why not bring back selection that is overt rather than covert and give the more academically inclined an education that plays to that strength?If comprehensives are not having the effect on social mobility that was claimed for them, why not bring back selection that is overt rather than covert and give the more academically inclined an education that plays to that strength?