{{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}}, Read more New grammar school opening, but don't expect more to follow, You may not agree with our views, or other users’, but please respond to them respectfully, Swearing, personal abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia and other discriminatory or inciteful language is not acceptable, Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties, We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification. Successful Students . The masters wore gowns, you called them “Sir” and stood up when they arrived in the classroom. But the local political and civic establishment in Buckinghamshire was much more interested in the grammar school. But lately I have changed my opinion on grammar schools. I am under no illusions, though. Had I been born in 1972 rather than 1962, by which time Leicestershire had started to abolish the grammars, I would not have had the life chances I have had. The evidence is clear: grammar schools unfairly favour the affluent, whereas a high-quality comprehensive system can raise the achievements of the less able, while doing no … At least £320m has been earmarked to … It was a case of education levelling down rather than up and so even more poorer children missed out on university. Whether you're in primary school and about to go to secondary school or in secondary school and starting to think about where you want to … What are the PROS of grammar schools? Therefore, the chances of children from these backgrounds are lesser in any test situation. Intelligence cannot be measured at the age of 11. Please continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates. But I do think private school students do in general do better academically than grammar schools anyway. At that time, I wanted to talk about grammars – to protect them from Labour’s 1998 School Standards and Framework Act, which provided for ballots on grammar schools’ future if 20% of parents demanded them. The existing Open Comments threads will continue to exist for those who do not subscribe to Independent Premium. My school taught ancient Greek. The evidence suggests pupils who get into grammar schools perform better than they would under comprehensive education, and pupils who don’t perform worse. It made the Conservatives seem narrow, backward-looking, old-fashioned. I used to subscribe to the myth that grammar schools were the great facilitator of opportunity for a bright working-class child. Holland Park school is extraordinarily socially and racially diverse, with nearly 17.7% of its school population on free school meals. Labour's arrangements for abolishing grammar schools were also a … She certainly did not take that stance when she was shadow education secretary, and I was her junior team member in charge of grammars, back in 1999. When parents did approach me, it was usually to seek my help to get their child into a grammar school. Rugby and cricket were the official sports; football was discouraged. Why Private Schools Are Better Than State. And if you look at that income gap, it is lower in Grammars than in any other kind of schools in the country. on 10 December, It's still rich v poor in English schools – exactly as Boris Johnson likes it | Fiona Millar. Selection fosters social division. Slowly, I came to see that 11 is far too young to select and that it is massively damaging to the self-esteem of the child. When I was elected in 1997, it seemed like an apartheid system. In 2006, pupils in England’s 164 grammar schools produced more than half the total number of A grade A levels in so-called harder subjects than those … In fact, the quality of the results achieved at grammar schools are simply because they select naturally high-achieving pupils from wealthier backgrounds. Part of it is the result of a general leftward shift in my political outlook. In data published by the DfE in 2015, only 32.2% of FSM children in Bucks obtained five or more GCSEs at grade C or above (the grading system at the time) while 71.4% of non-FSM children achieved the same. Grammar schools do not have better pupil attainment than other state schools and should be closed for the negative impact they have on social mobility, a new study has concluded. Similarly to grammar schools, private schools … ... while the kids at the secondary moderns and the comps did no better because the grammar was scrapped. Mine was fairly typical. Grammar schools are “horror movie monsters” to their detractors and “beacons of excellence” to their defenders. See related Pros and cons of creating new grammar schools In the town there are two state secondary schools, a grammar and a secondary modern, right next door to each other. The Royal Latin, founded in 1423, the one grammar school in the constituency, seemed to me to be the embodiment of excellence and confidence. I believe that Theresa May was right then and is wrong now. I have also been profoundly influenced by my family’s experience, from seeing close up how a fantastic comprehensive works. ‘Faith Schools, pupil performance, and social selection’: this report considers the premise in Schools that work for everyone that faith schools are high-performing and support increased social mobility. While that may have been true when Fred Perry – a great tennis hero of mine – went to grammar school in the 1920s, that is not the norm today. Try finding that in a state school today. Here we give you the low-down on the state, grammar and private school systems to give you a better idea of what you are signing up for. Children develop at different rates; I was a late developer, who flourished intellectually only at university. Tomorrow's Budget is set to pave the way for a new generation of grammar schools, as part of a £500m investment in education reforms. Independent Premium Comments can be posted by members of our membership scheme, Independent Premium. If there’d been no grammar, they’d have sent their boys to a fee-paying school. Grammar schools in the UK “do no better in terms of pupil achievement than other schools”, according to a new study. And despite May’s selective school expansion fund, which promised to increase the numbers of disadvantaged children in selective schools, those Bucks grammars that have recently benefited from extra government funds are actually taking in fewer disadvantaged children than before. She was keener to talk about schools in general, and explicitly not to associate the Tory party with the selective school issue. Educational quality and social justice make a formidable mix. Grammar schools provide equal opportunity to every student irrespective … Hey, guys! The children have a lot of homework, maybe a little too much, but then the curriculum has been overloaded since the reforms of Michael Gove. They have friends, male and female, of all ethnicities, Christian, Muslim and secular. Are you sure you want to mark this comment as inappropriate? It is a real London school and that is what I love about it. The place was a middle-class racket; most of my schoolmates’ parents were architects, surgeons, accountants and the like. They are the only state schools in England that are allowed to select all their pupils based on academic ability. He was not unusual. It was a … parentdish.co.uk, Parentdish UK. Due to the sheer scale of this comment community, we are not able to give each post the same level of attention, but we have preserved this area in the interests of open debate. John Bercow will be speaking online at a special Comprehensive Future event, Is there a comprehensive future? I confess to being conscious, too, that vast swathes of the local electorate were pro-grammar schools, particularly my Conservative voters. This made secondary education after the age of 14 free. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? It allows our most engaged readers to debate the big issues, share their own experiences, discuss real-world solutions, and more. It is a very disciplined school, led by the prodigiously energetic Colin Hall, who arrives at the crack of dawn and is remarkably knowledgable about every child. Greater social diversity: Finally, many parents prefer Grammar Schools because generally, they offer a greater level of social diversity compared to Private Schools. Next to it was the Buckingham school, the local secondary modern, less traditional, admirably serving its pupils who did not pass the 11-plus. From either perspective, the main issue is the role these schools play in ‘social mobility’. Sir William Borlase’s grammar school in Marlow, in selective Buckinghamshire. Selective schools, and the higher education, employment and earnings outcomes of those who attend them You seem poorly informed. And I was wrong then and am right now. ‘Students are selected based on their academic potential, to identify those who are most suitable for this type of education.’ Children who either don’t apply for a grammar school place or fail to meet the necessary academic st… Are you sure you want to delete this comment? I do not know if my elder son would have passed an exam at 10 (the age that many take the 11-plus) but at age 16, educated at a comprehensive, he has 11 GCSE passes, 10 of them at the top grade 9. Also the two top performing schools are independent schools. Compare that with neighbouring Luton, where the difference was only 13%. Allow grammar schools to expand – or better yet, open new ones in parts of the country you want to ‘level up’ – and the social mix of their pupils will change. Grammar pupils were encouraged to feel superior and many secondary modern students probably resented them. I received barely a handful of letters protesting at the system and was lobbied directly only once, by two Labour supporters who did not have children. Although some children from deprived backgrounds do go to Private Schools on a scholarship or bursary, most are from wealthy backgrounds. The former Speaker and MP for selective Buckingham was an ardent defender - until his own children went to school and he drilled down into the stats, Last modified on Tue 1 Dec 2020 04.46 EST. According to current figures, 18.6% of children going to Buckinghamshire grammars come from private schools; between 25% and 30% come from outside the county. The following 10 schools have been ranked and rated as part of the Real Schools Guide 2020 - a Reach plc analysis, compiled by our in-house data unit. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, “there is robust evidence that attending a grammar school is good for the attainment and later earnings of those who get in”. Far from being bastions of social mobility, the average grammar school has fewer than 3% of their pupils on free school meals, compared to an average of … ntil last year, I was the MP for Buckingham, in one of the few counties where education is fully selective. My children, who are very different in their talents and interests, are flourishing. Private schools are there to make money and a profit for their owners - the money does not always go into improving the school! In the town there are two state secondary schools, a grammar and a secondary modern, right next door to each other. I have come to believe that the only way we will get change in the selective areas is to have a countrywide policy, nationally promoted and applied. Why grammar schools are a good idea. We know that a less privileged socio-economic background and lack of parental education impact negatively on children’s learning. A number of grammar schools are reportedly being planned across England after the Government gave the go-ahead to the first "new" selective school in 50 years. However, pupil intakes differ between grammars and non-selective schools, both in terms … There is … They caned you, but they were also gifted, eccentric and inspirational, and gave their lives to the place. My school taught ancient Greek – try finding that in a state school today, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. And I did not question the selective system itself for a long time. I then looked at the latest National GCSE league tables to see if Grammar schools were better in terms of performance, in the top 100 schools in the country there are currently 28 Grammar schools, 46 Independent schools and 26 other schools (foundation or voluntary aided schools). In 2015, only 32.2% of children on free school meals in the county got five good GCSEs; neighbouring, non-selective Luton did much better. Bad in theory, bad on the stats, at least on a superficial inspection, and flawed, no doubt – but for those who went to one, they represented a ladder of opportunity which has since disappeared. This is not only because of the selection of more able pupils, but also because they can often be pushed harder due to a more equal level of ability in class. The chairman of the National Grammar School Association told Radio 5 live why grammar schools are good for children. Our own children have friends in both categories. Create a commenting name to join the debate, There are no Independent Premium comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts, There are no comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts. Very few were from poorer backgrounds; I’d say about 20 per cent. Each grammar school and how it fared 1) Invicta Grammar School I took the view that there had been too much structural change in education and that we needed to deal with the world as it was. Yet had that 20 per cent gone to a comp, they would have had a far worse schooling – while the kids at the secondary moderns and the comps did no better because the grammar was scrapped. The most insightful comments on all subjects will be published daily in dedicated articles. The Royal Latin, founded in 1423, the one grammar school in the constituency, seemed to me to be the embodiment of excellence and confidence. Read our full mailing list consent terms here. The grammar schools debate is a debate about the merits and demerits of the existence of grammar schools in the United Kingdom.Grammar schools are state schools which select their pupils on the basis of academic ability, with pupils sitting an exam (called the 11-plus) in the last year of primary school to determine whether or not they gain a place. The evidence is clear: grammar schools unfairly favour the affluent, whereas a high-quality comprehensive system can raise the achievements of the less able, while doing no damage to the academic chances of the cleverer child. For all these reasons, the attainment gap between FSM children and others is much higher in Bucks than in neighbouring authorities. Of course, I always supported both schools to the best of my ability – that is a local MP’s job. Artists impression of a new grammar school in Sevenoaks. Until last year, I was the MP for Buckingham, in one of the few counties where education is fully selective. When David Cameron was elected leader of the Tory party he said: “We shouldn’t keep banging on about grammar schools.” He did not want the Tory party to be defined by them – 164 schools out of thousands and thousands. Grammar schools have existed since the 16th Century, but the modern grammar school concept dates back to the Education Act 1944. Here is a comparison of 163 UK Grammar Schools based on their academic performance at GCSEs and their Progress 8 measures. 05/06/2015 11:33am BST ... Would she have got that in a state school - even the excellent grammar … There’s an idea that they’ll enhance social mobility – that poor talented children in grammar schools will get a better education than they would have had otherwise. We sent a decent proportion to Oxbridge, and I was one of them. Grammar schools are no more successful than comprehensives at getting their pupils into elite universities, according to new research. Grammar schools are unhealthy and should be phased out. Contradictory research has been produced, showing both that grammar schools consistently perform better than comprehensives in exams, and that results are not significantly better in areas with grammar schools. My three children attend Holland Park in west London, where I have now just been elected a parent-governor. And despite 76 per cent of local authorities having no grammar schools, nearly 2,000 comprehensive schools send only slightly more pupils to Oxbridge than all 163 grammar schools. And he was right. . According to a 2008 report conducted by the Sutton Trust and published on the Grammar Schools Association website, grammar school students perform better in GCSEs than pupils from other schools. GCSE attainment at grammars is, on average, much better than in non-selective schools (the attainment gap is greatest with non-selective schools in highly selective areas). Why? I never understood why Theresa May made expanding grammar schools a centrepiece of her premiership, although I suspect she was influenced by her chief of staff, Nick Timothy, a high Tory and a grammar school enthusiast. Good results: Grammar schools get great academic results. When I arrived in 1973 the Lower School Master, Mr Greenhow was about to retire. Our journalists will try to respond by joining the threads when they can to create a true meeting of independent Premium. We do not suggest that local areas can pick their own energy policy, so why should we with education? With the country so divided, and educational disadvantage growing so rapidly, even more so during the pandemic, it is time to act. Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines. See also: ‘Grammar schools and social mobility’: our first report on this area – the most detailed impartial study of the data and evidence on selective schools for almost a decade. Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. Both the Conservatives and Labour have to take an honest and open position and support comprehensive education everywhere. In later years, there was more collaboration between the schools’ headteachers – sharing of facilities and joint art and drama events, in an effort to bridge the gap in small ways. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. So it is with the grammar schools. Grammar schools are government-funded secondary schools. The Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys, in Leicester, thought it was a public school, for good or ill. You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. Bear in mind that in private schools there are lots of costs in addition to the fees including a huge uniform list, largely available from one supplier only, although I believe some grammar schools … If a child struggles, the school is all over it, constantly in touch about how to improve learning. 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