Grammar schools should give children from all backgrounds the chance of an excellent academic education – they should be an engine of social mobility now as in the past. Our local grammar schools are going out to primary schools in less well off areas to encourage more children to apply. Even so, there are still relatively few children from low income households at Kent’s grammar schools.
So I welcome news that Kent County Council has launched a commission to investigate whether enough is being done to help children from less well-off families get into grammar school.
I asked Nicky Morgan, the education Minister, to join me in supporting the commission in the House of Commons. I said, “Parents in Kent welcome the Secretary of State’s support for the expansion of popular grammar schools. Will she join me in expressing support for the commission launched by Kent County Council to ensure that children from low-income families get enough help to get into grammar schools, so that those schools can fulfil their potential to create social mobility?”
The secretary of state responded, “I welcome the work being done by Kent County Council. The new admissions code will specifically allow grammar schools to give priority to disadvantaged children who are eligible for the pupil premium. I also know that schools and authorities across the country are introducing stringent ways of stopping people being prepared for tests through tutoring.”
The commission, announced by KCC leader Paul Carter and lead by Cllr Jenny Whittle, will look into how children on free school meals can be helped to get into grammar schools. Lower pass rates, bursaries and quotas are among the ideas being reviewed.
Read the Hansard report here