Plans for new grammar schools appear to have been accidentally revealed - after an education department official was photographed with a document containing the details.
Pictured in Downing Street, it reveals that "the con (consultation) doc says we will open new grammars".
However, it does suggest only, "once we have worked with existing grammars to show how they can be expanded and reformed in ways which avoid disadvantage those who don't get in".
Grammar schools are state secondaries that select their pupils by setting an entrance exam at age 11.
There are currently 163 in England - out of some 3,000 state secondaries.
However, under a law created by Labour's Tony Blair in 1998, no new grammar schools are allowed to open in England.
Previously the Education Secretary Justine Greening has said she is prepared to be "open minded" about allowing new grammar schools in England.
This document appears to show that the Government is actively working towards lifting the ban, with expectations that it will be announced at Conservative Party Conference next month.
But such a move would likely face strong opposition from both Labour and the Liberal Democrats.
Prime Minister Theresa May, who went to a grammar school, commands a majority of just 12 in the House of Commons, but the Conservative's have no majority in the House of Lords.
Angela Rayner MP, shadow education secretary, said: "The cat is out of the bag: behind closed doors the Tories are planning a return to the bad old days of grammars, ignoring all the evidence which has told us time and again that they do not aid social mobility.
"As Michael Wilshaw said yesterday, with every grammar school you open you create three more secondary moderns with it. It's a policy which reveals the truth of this Tory Government: caring only for the few at the expense of the majority."
Meanwhile Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron told Sky News: "(The) Government are planning to shamefully extend grammar schools through the back door. Lib Dems will keep opposing them."
More than 100 Tory MPs are thought to support a campaign by ConservativeVoice, which was endorsed by senior cabinet ministers Liam Fox and David Davis in 2012.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: "The Prime Minister has been clear that we need to build a country that works for everyone, not just the privileged few.
"We are looking at a range of options to allow more children to access a school that lets them rise as far as their talents will take them.
"Policies on education will be set out in due course and it would be inappropriate to comment further on internal government documents."
No comments:
Post a Comment