NEWS AND VIEWS
GRAMMAR SCHOOLS
How grammar schools are expanding
I
Critics say disadvantaged children are losing out in England as selective schools find creative ways to poach students
t’s a glorious day at Herne Bay High School in Kent, and boys and girls in red tops are playing sport on neat artificial pitches. However, the principal, Jon Boyes, is looking into the distance, pointing out a piece of land on the other side of the road. If the local authority could be persuaded to buy it, he says, maybe he could squeeze in a much-needed new sixth-form centre. The school, a secondary modern – a non-selective school in a selective authority – is heavily oversubscribed, and a huge housing development next to the school is about to bring yet more pupils to the door. While local grammar schools have had permission to expand in recent years, however, there isn’t ready cash for necessary building works at Herne Bay High School. The irony of the situation is not lost on Boyes. Several of the local grammar schools can’t fill their places with pupils who’ve passed the Kent entrance test and are, instead, taking large numbers on appeal. Meanwhile, Herne Bay High is turning away significant numbers; it’s meant to take 258 11-year-olds each year but actually takes 280. Nationally, grammars have been allowed to expand; a handful of authorities, including Kent, remain fully selective, while several others are partially so. So, are more children in those areas reaching the required
08
March 2022
standard? Or is it getting easier to go to a selective school? The Guardian questioned all 162 remaining grammar schools in England about their recent admissions numbers through a freedom of information request, which also went to relevant local authorities, and received figures for 143 for the past five years. The results show an interesting pattern; those 143 schools grew by 5.4% – about 1,200 pupils in total – but the numbers taking the 11-plus test didn’t keep pace; they grew by just 2.4%, in a period when the numbers of 11-year-olds were also rising. HOW DID THE GRAMMARS MANAGE TO EXPAND WHILE STILL, APPARENTLY, REQUIRING CHILDREN TO PASS THE SAME TESTS? The Kent example can shed light on the issue. Of seven east Kent grammars that take pupils from Herne Bay, three have expanded since 2016. Yet not all are full – and all but one are taking significant numbers of pupils who didn’t pass the 11-plus test. The range of ways in which Kent grammars find pupils who didn’t pass the controversial test is impressive. About 20% pass the test first time. A further four per cent – about 600 each year – are offered grammar school places on the basis of
