This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-23598589
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Welsh Conservatives revive grammar school idea | Welsh Conservatives revive grammar school idea |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Parts of the old grammar school system would be revived if the Welsh Conservatives took power in Cardiff Bay, the party says. | Parts of the old grammar school system would be revived if the Welsh Conservatives took power in Cardiff Bay, the party says. |
| It believes the move would raise standards although it is not calling for a return of the 11-plus exam. | It believes the move would raise standards although it is not calling for a return of the 11-plus exam. |
| The party's shadow education minister Angela Burns said pupils should be separated by ability at 14 into two streams - academic and vocational. | |
| There are no remaining grammar schools in Wales and only 164 in England. | There are no remaining grammar schools in Wales and only 164 in England. |
| Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Ms Burns said: "I think it is time that we revisited the successful elements of grammar schools and sought apply it to a modern Welsh system. | Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Ms Burns said: "I think it is time that we revisited the successful elements of grammar schools and sought apply it to a modern Welsh system. |
| "If we did that we might again see a Wales where excellence is championed in a dual education system." | "If we did that we might again see a Wales where excellence is championed in a dual education system." |
| Prime Minister David Cameron is not in favour of increasing selective education in England, a policy that has caused disquiet in the Conservative party and led to the resignation of front-bencher Graham Brady in 2007. | Prime Minister David Cameron is not in favour of increasing selective education in England, a policy that has caused disquiet in the Conservative party and led to the resignation of front-bencher Graham Brady in 2007. |
| Under devolution, the Welsh Tories are free to set their own policy independent of Mr Cameron's party in London. | |
| If they were in power, the Welsh Conservatives would not adopt the old system of academic testing at 11, which Ms Burns concedes was divisive. | |
| But she insists the dual education system would raise standards and help brighter pupils from poorer backgrounds. | |
| Ms Burns cited research from London University's Institute of Education which she said shows that the abolition of grammar schools has blocked disadvantaged pupils' "escape routes" to top universities and high-paid professional careers. | |
| She added: "Instead of separating academic children from their more vocational counterparts, we could see the benefit of creating two equitable streams of education, one alongside the other, a dualling that begins at 14 - giving children the chance to develop important core subject skills before embarking on their chosen path." |