WIREDGOV

The planned new generation of grammar schools should be required to scout for academic talent among poor children in much the same way as top sports clubs scour the country for potential young champions, according to a major new report on education reform.

It says that Theresa May should launch her quest for an expansion of selective education by targeting the first wave of new grammars on parts of the country with the highest levels of social deprivation and the lowest levels of academic achievement.

It concludes that such an approach would boost opportunities for bright, disadvantaged youngsters and kick-start stagnant levels of social mobility.

The study from the Centre for Social Justice, the think-tank founded in 2004 by former Cabinet Minister Iain Duncan Smith, points out that GCSE exam results are much better among pupils who attend Britain's remaining 163 grammar schools than among those who attend comprehensives, although it is concedes that much of the gap can be explained by prior attainment at primary level. 

It also says that children from low-income families – as defined by those eligible for free school meals (FSM) – do better in grammars than comprehensives. The attainment gap between them and children from better off homes is only four per cent compared with a 25 per cent gap at comprehensives. 

The report notes that FSM pupils make up only three per cent of grammar school rolls, compared with 18 per cent of other state schools in those parts of the country that have retained selective education. Backing Government plans to create new grammars in 10 ‘opportunity areas’ or ‘cold spots’, the CSJ says that targeting the most deprived areas could redress this imbalance and give better opportunities across the board.

Ideological opposition to a new wave of grammars can be expected from some heads and teachers, the report warns. But it argues that selection by stealth is a feature of the state education system at present. It quotes independent research showing that house prices are markedly higher in areas with grammar schools as parents compete for the right to send their children to high-achieving schools. Properties in the catchment area around the high performing Beaconsfield High School in Buckinghamshire are up to 171 per cent (£629,021) more than the average house price in neighbouring areas.

The fact that schools are allowed to choose pupils on the basis of non-academic factors, such as musical ability – “selection by oboe” – can also work against the prospects of youngsters from poor families.

“It is high time that children from more deprived families were given the same educational opportunities as those from the wealthiest in society, and a well-designed selective system could do this,” the report says. 

As part of efforts to make selective education available to a wider cross section of children, the report says that new grammars should be under an obligation to work with local feeder primary schools and to assist other local secondaries.

One idea worth considering is establishing quotas for children from disadvantaged families along the lines of the King Edward V1 Foundation schools in Birmingham which reserve 20- 25 per cent of their places for FSM pupils. Another proposal is for comprehensives to select, say, 30 per cent of their intake on academic grounds and run “grammar streams” within their classrooms. 

Andy Cook, chief executive of the CSJ, commented: “No one would question the ambition of sports clubs to scout out the best talent in the country and make them into the next generation of star athletes.

“The same unapologetic quest for latent potential should be applied to the academic talent in our country, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, who have the odds heavily stacked against them. 

“A child living in one of England’s most disadvantaged areas is 27 times more likely to go to an inadequate school than a child living in one of the most prosperous. This unacceptable cycle of disadvantage must be broken. 

“Brand new grammar schools in areas where education attainment is at rock-bottom would be a much needed step forward in creating an educational system that has social mobility as one of its key objectives.” 

CSJ Report: Selective Education and Social Mobility

Notes to editors

For media enquiries contact: Beatrice Timpson (07803 726 977, beatrice@mippr.co.uk) or Nick Wood (07889 617003, nick@mippr.co.uk) at Media Intelligence Partners. 

About the Centre for Social Justice

The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) exists to put social justice at the heart of British politics. Advancing social justice is about identifying the root causes of poverty and providing a way out to those it affects. Established in 2004, the CSJ is an independent think tank that studies the root causes of poverty and aims to address them through practical policy interventions. 

The CSJ’s vision is to give people in the UK who are experiencing the worst multiple disadvantage and injustice, every possible opportunity to reach their full potential. The principles behind this vision are: 

• A mandate for the whole of the UK, not just isolated areas;
• A focus on the bottom 20 per cent and those who, without external intervention, may never fulfil their potential;
• An agenda that is evidence-based, targeted towards long-term solutions, and harnesses the best grass-roots practice;
• A commitment to providing a route out of poverty via a hand-up, not a hand-out;
• A commitment to the transformation of lives, not just alleviating symptoms.