Friends of Grammar Schools

By Graeme PatonEducation Editor   535 words

Publication date: 4 July 2009     Source: The Daily Telegraph

Page: 4             (c) 2009 Telegraph Group Limited, London

MORE grammar school places should be turned over to poor pupils, according to a leading head teacher.

Shaun Fenton, the chairman of the Grammar School Heads’ Association, said the 11-plus entrance examination should be reformed to stop middle-class parents gaining an advantage by sending their children to private tutors.

He suggested schools should be able to “make allowances” for pupils’ social background, and that it was “fine” to convert grammar schools into non-selective academies if the majority of parents agreed.

Concerns have been raised that few children from the poorest homes get into selective state schools, but supporters say that is due to the demand for places following the large-scale closure of grammar schools in the 1960s and 1970s. They called for the expansion of existing schools, instead of moves to “socially engineer” admissions.

Last week David Davis, the Conservative MP, restarted the debate over grammar schools by calling for a return to academic selection to “rescue the next generation of the underprivileged”. The move was seen as an attack on David Cameron, who caused anger among Tory backbenchers two years ago by saying that no more grammar schools would be built under a Conservative government.

Yesterday Mr Fenton stopped short of calling for the expansion of selective state schools, but insisted admissions should be overhauled.

Currently, all schools are banned from assessing parental income or family background to ensure the middle class is not favoured.

But Mr Fenton, the head of Pate’s Grammar, Cheltenham, said this rule should be relaxed to allow the top schools to discriminate in favour of the poor.

“Grammar schools exist to serve social mobility, but they are not allowed to make allowances for the social background of applicants,” he said.

“At the moment, the admissions code is written to be blind to background because of the danger that schools would take advantage of it.”

He added: “This is not just a problem for grammar schools. All schools should make the admissions code aid social mobility. It is about justice, not social engineering.”

Only 164 grammar schools remain in England, educating around one in 20 pupils.

They are among the most sought-after schools, regularly attracting more than 10 applications for every place.

In recent years, the scramble for places has caused a rise in demand for private tutors as many parents pay to ensure their children get the edge in entrance tests.

The Grammar School Heads’ Association has commissioned research into the 11-plus to find out how exams can be reformed to stop favouring pupils who have been “coached”.

Mr Fenton told the Times Educational Supplement that tests could be designed to assess pupils’ longer-term academic potential, rather than their ability to recall facts in a one-off exam.

Nick Seaton, an executive member of the National Grammar Schools Association, set up more than 30 years ago to protect selective education, said: “It is nonsense really. The standards for entry should be based on objective knowledge or ability, not whether pupils come from a wealthy or poor home. We need more grammar schools and more places to satisfy demand.”

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* This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the views or position of Friends of Grammar Schools.