Comprehensive Future

"As long as grammar schools exist, the myth of meritocracy lives on." An interesting article by a former grammar school pupil who argues that selective schools are not the answer to educational inequality.

The myth of the grammar school Holly Farrell examines the position of grammar schools within England's educational system and argues that they're not the answer to educational inequality 

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has been making the case for comprehensive education for more than a decade.

From "I oppose selection with everything I've got" to "call time on the test", we've brought together some of his key comments on grammar schools and fair admissions.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has long been one of the strongest political voices against school selection – Comprehensive Future As Andy Burnham settles into Downing Street, Comprehensive Future is highlighting his longstanding support for comprehensive education and fair school admissions — ... Read more

Kent County Council is spending £7.2m to expand a grammar school. This article argues that the complexity of selective school place planning wastes public money. How many children will sit the exam? How many will pass? Will they be boys or girls?

Why not simply build schools that work for everyone in the community?

Kent’s grammar school system has a £7.2m maths problem Plus a council stretching from Folkestone to Sheppey, six-hour border queues, Southern Water bosses facing trial and a far-right damp squib in Dover

Andy Burnham's plans to give technical and vocational learning equal standing with academic subjects from age 14 are a genuinely welcome step — his own record in Greater Manchester shows this can work well when it's built into a fully comprehensive system.

But in areas that still select at 11, adding a technical pathway at 14 is a different story. Pupils who didn't pass the 11-plus could end up steered toward "vocational" routes — not because of their aptitude, but because of a test they sat three years earlier.

This isn't just theoretical: Kent and Lincolnshire, two of England's last fully selective counties, are both now run by Reform UK. If these reforms hand more control to local areas, the government needs a plan for places where local leaders want to double down on selection, not move away from it.

Burnham's technical education plans are welcome — but only if they work in selective areas too – Comprehensive Future Prime Minister Andy Burnham has unveiled a major overhaul of England’s education system designed to elevate technical and vocational learning to equal standing ... Read more

Grammar schools take far fewer disadvantaged pupils than the schools around them, but Ofsted's new report cards are rewarding them with ratings for 'strong' inclusion.

Meanwhile, the schools that take on the pupils grammar schools reject are getting marked down.

We think that's the opposite of what "inclusion" should mean. Full story:

Why do Ofsted's new report cards reward grammar schools and punish secondary moderns? – Comprehensive Future Schools Week recently analysed Ofsted new report cards and found that grammar schools were frequently judged to have a ‘Strong’ standard for ... Read more

Big congratulations to Andy Burnham on becoming Prime Minister, and to Lucy Powell MP on her appointment as Education Secretary.

Both have long records of supporting comprehensive education and questioning academic selection. Andy Burnham has consistently argued that education should bring children from all backgrounds together, while Lucy Powell has been a longstanding advocate for fair admissions and a strong critic of grammar school expansion.

Comprehensive Future looks forward to working constructively with the new government to make the case for a fairer admissions system that gives every child the best chance to succeed.

Congratulations to them both, and we wish them every success in their new roles.

We can stop a broken system deciding your child's school by:
🎒 Ending academic selection at age 11 gradually over four years
📚 Replacing it with comprehensive schools open to all
💷 Funding the schools that have been underfunded for years

Grammar schools are being rated as having "Strong" inclusion.

Schools that exclude most local children through academic selection. Schools that admit tiny proportions of SEND and disadvantaged pupils.

We need a serious conversation about what Ofsted means by 'inclusive.'

Grammar schools are inclusive, says Ofsted Analysis findings prompt backlash, but heads say they should be judged on what they achieve for their pupils

Our interview with Professor Peter Mandler is now available as a podcast. Peter discusses the history of selection, meritocracy and the 11-plus, and what that history can tell us about current debates on selective education.

Listen here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ITJCeGOhZ52GsRHmEeaGe?si=ralWuUf3TyO6DmpN4MWG7Q

CF Conversations #1: Selection, Meritocracy and the 11-Plus – Professor Peter Mandler CF Conversations · Episode

"I feel guilty that we are giving my daughter an advantage because we're paying for tutoring."

One Gloucestershire parent calls grammar school entry a "moral dilemma".

When families feel they must pay for coaching simply to avoid their child being disadvantaged, the problem isn't the parents.

It's the system.

Parents say grammar test changes won’t end tutoring advantage Parents in Gloucestershire react to the attempt to make grammar schools 'more accessible'.