Theresa May to bring back grammar schools in ‘victory for common sense’

THE Prime Minister will overturn a nearly 20-year ban on new grammar schools in what has been hailed as a "victory for common sense".

Theresa May is expected to announce the brave new policy on academic selection as early as the Conservative Party conference in the autumn.

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It comes after years of campaigning from Tory backbenchers dismayed at David Cameron's lack of support for selective schools during his premiership.

Public support for the reintroduction of grammar schools is through the roof.

As many as seven in ten people want to see the ban on new grammar schools -- which was brought in by Tony Blair's government in 1998 -- scrapped entirely.

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A government source told  the historic policy shift is about “social mobility and making sure that people have the opportunity to capitalise on all of their talents”.

“If you’re a really bright kid you should have the opportunity to excel as far as your talents take you,” they added.

Mrs May is pinning her leadership on addressing social mobility and what is seen as an increasing gap between haves and have-nots in society.

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The move has been celebrated by Tory campaigners.

Graham Brady, who quit the party's front bench in 2007 over Cameron's views on education, said the change would help “raise standards".

He told the newspaper: “The ban on new grammar schools introduced by Labour makes no sense and is an unjustified restriction of choice for parents and communities that want this kind of education,” he said.

“Scrapping Labour’s absurd ban on grammar schools would be great news and an early achievement for Theresa May’s government.”

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Tory MP Gareth Johnson said: “Thousands of children will be able to take advantage of increased social mobility and opportunities that this creates".

Education secretary Justine Greening will lead the reintroduction of new grammar schools.

However, no exact plans about how the policy will be rolled out have yet been made.

There are only 163 grammar schools in England and 69 in Northern Ireland.

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