LABOUR pledged to fight against attempts to open new grammar schools yesterday following speculation that Prime Minister Theresa May may end a ban on their creation.

Ms May, who backed a grammar school’s proposal to expand its premises in her own constituency of Maidenhead, is believed to be set to announce a lift on the ban at the Tory Party conference in October.

The Sunday Telegraph quoted an anonymous government source which said that allowing a new generation of grammar schools was about “social mobility and making sure that people have the opportunity to capitalise on all of their talents.”

Labour shadow education secretary Angela Rayner warned however that selective schooling “belongs in the dustbin of history and has no place in modern schools.”

Ms Rayner said: “Rather than harking back to a mythical ‘golden age’ of grammar schools, the Tories must work tirelessly to improve every school in the country, to work with teachers to drive up standards, and to give our schools the investment they need in the 21st century.”

An NUT spokesperson warned against “a return to the socially divisive policies of selection through grammar schools.”
They said “the focus for an effective education service, and a more inclusive society, must be to ensure a good local school for every child and community’.”

Grammar schools select pupils at the age of 10 or 11 based on an entrance exam.

The creation of new grammar schools was banned under Tony Blair in 1998, and former Prime Minister David Cameron resisted pressure from his backbenchers to lift the ban during his tenure.

A lift on the ban would mark a rightward shift in Tory education policy.

Far from promoting social mobility as the Tories claim, research from the House of Commons Library has shown that the number of pupils from wealthy backgrounds attending grammar schools is disproportionately high compared to other local schools in the area.

Statistics from the House of Commons Library have also shown that grammar schools take in far fewer pupils with additional support needs or who are eligible for free school meals.

Parliament’s eight Liberal Democrats are also expected to oppose the lift on the ban.

Scotland’s separate education system would not be affected.