Grammar schools can be ‘transformative’ for working class areas and help kids catch up with middle class children, says report

GRAMMAR schools can be “transformative” for working class areas and help kids catch up with middle class children, according to a major report by a think tank.

White children from a poor background are currently bottom of the class, and will stay there without a major overhaul, including selective education targeted at them, it says.

The report recommends an Olympic-style "Team GB" approach of "marginal gains" be adopted to transform the performance amongst an ethnic group which has the lowest level of educational attainment.

The study by ResPublica was commissioned by Labour-run Knowsley Council on Merseyside, the second poorest borough in England and the worst-performing authority for GCSE resuts.

It has set up a £1million Education Commission to tackle its dire education performance, but authors of the report say the changes they propose could have a dramatic impact across working class areas all over the country.

Director of ResPublica Phillip Blond said: "For too long white working class children have been left behind by an education system which is not working properly.

"With a new education secretary we have the chance to implement change, not only in Knowsley where we know that improvements need to be made but across the whole of the country.

"Re-introducing grammar schools is potentially a transformative idea for working class areas where there are little or no middle classes to game the admission system.

“We know that selection improves the performance of those white working class children selected - the trouble is too few of them are.

"We recommend that new grammars in the first instance are exclusively focused on the needs of white working class children."

Theresa May has made the re-introduction of grammars a flagship part of her education policy, setting out the plans in her very first speech as Prime Minister.

She pledged to fight "burning injustice", which means that: "If you're a white, working class boy, you're less likely than anybody else in Britain to go to university."

But she was accused of being “misty-eyed” for the 1950s in a withering attack by Ofsted head and Chief Inspector of Schools Sir Michael Wilshaw.

ResPublica say for grammar schools to contribute the Government should ensure they are focused on the most disadvantaged areas, where there are no existing local schools rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted.

It cites research that found for "poor but bright" pupils, grammar schools can boost their performance by nearly 10% compared to non-selective schools.

A Department for Education spokesman said the Government welcomed the initiatives to improve standards in Knowsley.

He added: "We want to build a country that works for everyone, not just the privileged few, and education is at the heart of that ambition.

"This research shows the transformative impact grammar schools can have on the life chances of less well-off pupils.

“That is why we are consulting on proposals to tap into that expertise and spread that knowledge across the system so that every child has access to a good school place."