Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to promote the establishment of new grammar schools in areas where there is significant demand for selective education, including the Romford constituency.

The Government has no plans to open more grammar schools. The Department’s priority is to concentrate on ensuring that as many pupils as possible, whatever their ability, have access to an outstanding education. Setting and streaming of pupils is common practice in secondary schools and enables teachers to tailor lessons to suit pupils of similar abilities and ensures that the highest ability pupils are offered additional stretch.

The Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) supports a small number of expansion projects. Eligible grammar schools can apply for CIF funding in an annual bidding round

The below table shows the average Attainment 8 and Progress 8 data for non-selective and selective secondary schools in the 2021/22 academic year. It does not take account of the differences in pupil abilities or characteristics, for example free school meal eligibility, between selective and non-selective schools.

A wide range of published research looks at the effect of grammar schools on social mobility. Grammar schools offer benefits to those children that attend them. Research shows that, in some areas with lots of selective schools, the attainment of pupils at local non-selective schools is negatively affected relative to their peers in areas with no selective schools. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

The Department is currently looking at renewing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Department and the Grammar School Heads Association (GSHA), which sets out the commitment of GSHA members to increase the number of disadvantaged pupils on roll. Alongside the MoU, the 22 grammar schools that previously received funding through the Selective Schools Expansion Fund (SSEF) all prioritise pupil premium children for admission and undertake outreach work to increase the number of disadvantaged pupils on roll. The Department is evaluating delivery of their Fair Access and Partnership Plans over a five-year period. Between 2018/19 and 2021/22, the percentage of pupils eligible for pupil premium attending SSEF schools has increased from 7.2% to 8.6%.

[1] Andrews et al., 2016, EPI, “Grammar schools and social mobility”: https://epi.org.uk/publications-and-research/grammar-schools-social-mobility/.

[2] Atkinson et al., 2006, "The result of 11+ Selection: An Investigation into Opportunities and Outcomes for Pupils in Selective LEAs": https://www.researchgate.net/publication/4798623_The_Result_of_11_Plus_Selection_An_Investigation_into_Opportunities_and_Outcomes_for_Pupils_in_Selective_LEAs.

[3] Gorard and Siddiqui, 2016, "Grammar schools in England: a new approach to analysing their intakes and outcomes": https://dro.dur.ac.uk/20400/.

[4] Burgess et al., 2018, "Assessing the role of grammar schools in promoting social mobility": http://repec.ioe.ac.uk/REPEc/pdf/qsswp1709.pdf.

[5] Cribb et al., 2013, "Entry into Grammar Schools in England": https://www.suttontrust.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/poorgrammarreport-2.pdf.