Monday 8 December 2014

New grammar school in Sevenoaks

The government is due to give the green light to funding the first new grammar school in England for 50 years.

The Weald of Kent School has applied to open a satellite school in Sevenoaks.  It would take its first cohort of 90 pupils in September 2016.

It is thought that, should the application be granted, other education authorities and schools will also apply to establish new grammar schools.

One of the main arguments for selective, grammar education is its role in aiding social mobility.  However, the evidence for this is not currently clear-cut.

The Sutton Trust noted than only 2.7% of current grammar school pupils are eligible for free school meals, when the national average is 18%.

The head of OFSTED, Sir Michael Wilshaw, went as far as saying that the grammar schools are “stuffed full of middle-class children”.

Supporters say that grammar schools give poorer children a better chance of a productive education and that the comprehensive system is compromised as houses in catchment areas for good schools are priced out of reach of poorer families.