It is currently illegal to open a new grammar school for children in England – which was enforced in 1998 by Conservative Prime Minister, Tony Blair.
With only 163 grammar schools existing in England, it should be a priority that they are accessible to all students.
However, almost half of the grammar schools are based in either London or the South East – whilst there’s none in the North East.
This issue has recently sparked a full-blown campaign, protesting for the lifting of the ban on new grammar schools, to help children from poorer areas.
With grammar schools mainly existing in only wealthy areas, this, therefore, restricts the opportunities that are available to children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
A former teacher, Jonathan Gullis, is the leader of this highly supported campaign. He described the situation as “education is currently the very definition of a postcode lottery. Protecting existing grammar schools without creating new ones is reinforcing this”.
The campaign has also received support from certain Tory MPs, who are advocating for the government to revive Theresa May’s plans to lift the legal ban on new grammar schools being established.
Nadhim Zahawi, the Secretary of State for Education, insists that he too wants to ‘spread the DNA’ of grammar schools in England.
Despite his support, Zahawi’s plans are different to the campaigns as he aims to absorb more grammar institutions into a “family of multi-academy trusts”, whilst protecting their status.
Whereas, a Red Wall Conservative MP argues that the lifting of the new grammar school ban would help end the ‘geographic sweepstake’ in education quality.
Currently, the campaign for lifting the new grammar school ban is still ongoing – protesting against only wealthier children having access to these establishments.
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