Public attitude towards grammar schools split

A report by NatCen Social Research has found that the public are split on the expansion of grammar schools, with 53 per cent supporting such a policy.

While most thought grammars were very good at enabling children to achieve academic success, they were not seen as being much better at preparing pupils for work than secondary modern schools.

The research included interviewing 2,176 people living in England and Wales in November 2016, either via the internet or over the phone as part of NatCen's panel. All respondents were originally interviewed as part of the random probability face-to-face 2015 British Social Attitudes survey.

As many as two-thirds believe that grammar schools level the playing field for children from disadvantaged backgrounds either some, 54 per cent, or all, 13 per cent, of the time.

The public was relatively optimistic about the chances of a bright child from a disadvantaged background getting into a grammar school – 45 per cent of respondents thought there was some chance and 18 per cent thought there was a high chance.