Last September, I began a new school over 20 miles away from my previous converter academy of 5 years to join a new 6th form at a grammar school.
In the mid-1960s there was almost 1,300 grammar schools in England. Now the number is just 163. In my home county of Kent, the argument of Grammar Schools has started up again. In October it was announced by Education Secretary Nicky Morgan that a new grammar school would be opened in Sevenoaks.
As the demand for school places grows, so does stress on schools. More schools are becoming selective in the admissions policy, and have seen my own grammar change its intake policy so that students must achieve at least 20 marks over the pass mark of the eleven plus (the entry test, now called the ‘Kent Test’) with those living within 5 miles of the school given first choice.
The main cause of the argument is grades: what qualifications will students get? In 2015, virtually all students achieved five or more C and above grades at GCSE compared to 63% at comprehensives.
Why do grades depend on the type of school you go to? The most common explanation appears to be socioeconomic background.
Statistics clearly show a correlation between social background and academic achievement. The types of students that attend grammar schools have often been private tutored to pass the eleven plus, have stable homes to learn in and can afford all the materials to learn effectively. Whereas in nonselective schools, it’s not uncommon to come from a single-parent family and not be able to afford a text book. Research from The Sutton Trust states that less than 3% of pupils in grammar schools are entitled to free school meals, compared to an average of 18% in the area they serve. However, research argues that students from either types of school are just as likely to continue to university due to poorer students taking out loans and wanting to achieve more to live a better life.
So already, we see children from wealthy families entering into a single-sex grammar school mixing with other children from wealthy families. Almost all the parents drive fancy cars and there is little, if no children, whose parents live below the minimum wage. If we compare this to my old school, previously a comprehensive school but now an academy (a step that many other schools took), it was very rare to see a Range Rover or a new car.
Buckinghamshire introduced ‘tutor-proof’ eleven plus tests to not penalise those from poorer backgrounds, but it appeared to have failed.
So what’s the solution? Abolishment of grammar schools.
In many towns, schools are within 5 minutes of each other, yet children travel much further to attend a grammar school. If all schools were nonselective, over a few years the high quality applications would be spread more evenly and would encourage competition within classrooms, allowing children to grow up understanding the variety of economic backgrounds and reduce the stress in certain areas.
What about me? It may be hypocritical of me moving to a grammar school just under 20 miles away but 6th forms do not follow the grammar system. I come from a poor economic background and the £1900 travel costs are covered by the school because my mother simply couldn’t afford it. I was met with minor spite from other students because I had got a place with “just” Cs and Bs at GCSE, whereas 12 grammar school quality A* seemed to be the norm from others. We all know grades increasingly lack clout, with experience and extra-curricular achievements taking main stage.
Why did I move schools? Just fancied a change of scenery.
