THERE are only six areas in England where parents want new grammar schools and creating them would benefit the wider school population, and one of them is Essex, a study says.
The Education Policy Institute modelled the impact of government plans to expand selective schools by looking at how 32,844 districts would be affected reports the BBC.
The think tank applied the government’s conditions for allowing new schools.
The government called the study a crude attempt to second-guess the results of its consultation on new schools.
The researchers began by constructing a set of tests mirroring the conditions for new grammars set out in the government’s White Paper, Schools that Work for Everyone.
These were that they:
should not be to the detriment of pupils who miss out
need to be in areas where there are sufficient numbers of pupils who could attend
should not undermine existing high-performing schools
are only in areas where parents want them
They found that broader education levels would be harmed if new selective schools were created in areas where more than half of highly attaining pupils could access grammar school places.
This “no detriment” principle knocked out just under 30% of areas.
They then excluded any area that did not have at least 150 pupils with high prior attainment who lived within a reasonable travelling distance.
This disqualified a further 1% of areas.
The researchers then excluded areas which already had high-performing non-selective schools, whose fortunes could be harmed by the introduction of new grammar schools.
This left just under a fifth of areas.
When these areas were cross-referenced with the 37 local authority areas which expressed strong support for new grammars in a recent YouGov poll, just six areas remained.
These were Solihull, Essex, North Yorkshire, Dorset, Northamptonshire and North Somerset, all of which have fewer disadvantaged pupils than the national average.
The study added that expansion principles would be met only in parts of each local authority area.
“We therefore conclude that it will be difficult for the government to identify areas for grammar school expansion that will avoid damage to pupils who do not access the new selective places, where there is public demand for new selective places and high disadvantage,” the researchers said.
The EPI’s chairman, David Laws, said his organisation’s analysis showed that the provision of additional grammar school places in England would be unlikely to be an effective strategy to boost social mobility.
“The additional analysis that we have now published highlights further significant challenges which face the government if ministers decide to press on with these proposals.”
But a spokeswoman for the DfE dismissed the findings, noting that its own consultation on removing the ban from grammar schools closes on Monday.
She said: “This report is a crude attempt to second-guess what that consultation will conclude.
“Independent organisations have recognised the transformative impact grammar schools can have on the lives of disadvantaged young people.
“Our consultation closes on 12 December and we look forward to considering all the responses.”
