Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that children from lower-income backgrounds are not disadvantaged in access to grammar school places.

Schools are not permitted to charge parents for their children’s admission or education. This includes charges for children to sit a school’s entrance test. However, they can charge for optional extras such as familiarisation tests.

The department and the Grammar School Heads Association (GSHA) entered into a memorandum of understanding in 2018, which runs until 2027, through which the GSHA agreed to work with its members to increase access for disadvantaged children.

Some local authorities and schools provide free test familiarisation materials for all children, including for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.