Tiffin Girls School in Kingston
Existing grammar schools have been invited to apply for extra funding from a £50m allocation design to enable grammar schools to grow. This is under the condition that they can show how they are helping disadvantaged students. There are currently 163 grammar schools in England, out of some 3,000 state secondaries, and a further 67 grammar schools in Northern Ireland. There are no state grammars in Wales or Scotland. At present, only around 2.5 per cent of grammar school pupils are eligible for free school meals. In particular, they will aim to prioritise those eligible for pupil premium funding, and consider how to publicise this to applicants and other schools.
However, Melissa Benn, chair of Comprehensive Future, told Tes that grammar schools that have already changed their admissions policies to prioritise children entitled to the pupil premium have only ended up admitting “two or three” additional disadvantaged children.
The creation of new grammar schools was outlawed in 1998, but existing grammar schools are allowed to expand. Last September, the Weald of Kent Grammar School in Tonbridge opened the first such annexe, nine miles away in Sevenoaks.
But how keen will successful grammar schools to expand, if they will be under increasing pressure to prioritise admission of disadvantaged students, a form of affirmative action? It remains to be seen how many schools will apply to expand. So far, no London grammar has announced any plans to expand. We will await further news on the subject.