Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they propose to take to ensure that 11-plus examinations for entry to existing and proposed grammar schools are free from any bias that would adversely impact on children from Pakistani or Caribbean backgrounds.

The School Admissions Code requires school admission arrangements to be ‘fair, clear and objective’. It further requires that ‘admission authorities must ensure that their arrangements will not disadvantage unfairly, either directly or indirectly, a child from a particular social or racial group’.

Those who consider an admission policy, including a selection test, breaches the School Admissions Code can submit an objection to the independent Schools Adjudicator. If the Adjudicator agrees that the policy is unfair or otherwise breaches the Code she can require schools to amend their admission arrangements.