grammar schools | Schools Week

Grammar schools aren’t from the 1950s, they’re from the Middle Ages

It is very trendy to say that reviving grammar schools would be a return to the 1950s. However, grammar schools are actually a medieval concept. A consequence of the Norman Conquest in 1066 was the growth of merchant trade in England. Slavery was banned, buildings were thrown up, and trading boomed. But the population was […]

Michael Gove backs grammar plan – despite previous resistance to selective school expansion

Michael Gove has today backtracked on his historical resistance to new selective schools by saying the prime minister’s plans to expand grammars is “right” and will “spread excellence”. Speaking to the BBC’s World at One, the former education secretary appeared to whole-heartedly back Theresa May and Justine Greening’s proposals to end the ban on new grammar […]

Four-day week threat as budgets hit ‘breaking point’

School budgets at “breaking point” are forcing headteachers to take “drastic measures”, a union leader has warned. Heads of primary and secondary schools across West Sussex sent a letter to parents last week revealing funding cuts may result in a four-day week. The county is one of the lowest funded in England with, according to […]

Grammar plan is winning formula’ for votes, says Conservative MP

One of the Conservative’s fiercest grammar advocates has said the policy is not only the morally “right thing” to do but is also a “winning formula” for gaining voters. Speaking at a fringe event on Monday at the Conservative party annual conference, MP Dominic Raab said that meritocratic principles would help restore the public’s belief […]

Emma Mattinson-Hardy’s top blogs 3 October 2016

Party conference season is upon us and each political party is setting out its stall in how they think education should be run. Whether we agree with it or not, education is a political issue. With over 300 Labour stalls and 100 NUT stalls popping up to protest against May’s proposal to have more grammar […]

The mystery of the disappearing education secretary

As another party conference season ebbs away, this is usually the part where I write a column about the education secretary. For the past two years I spent the Conservative conference at fringe events stalking Nicky Morgan – turning up at the parties she was at, springing questions on her during debates – and taking […]

Kent private schools ignore 11-plus tutoring ban

Independent schools in Kent are openly advertising their success at coaching pupils to pass an 11-plus test, against their council’s ruling banning such tutoring. An investigation by the anti-grammar campaign group Kent Education Network (KEN) found that some independent primaries in the county admitted they prepared pupils to pass the grammar school test. That comes […]

Theresa May pledges to lift ban on grammar schools

The government will lift the ban on opening new grammar schools, the prime minister has announced, pre-empting the outcome of a consultation on the matter. Theresa May told the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham this afternoon that the ban introduced by Tony Blair’s government in 1998 was a ‘scandal’, and pledged to lift it. Her commitment to […]

Who was the first politician to announce the end of grammar schools?

The common belief is that it was Labour education secretary Anthony Crosland. He sent out a circular in 1965 to local authorities urging them to end selective schools in their area. (Note “urge” not “order” as many people think.) But there is a part of the story missing. Because it was actually the Conservative education […]