Editing Grammar school (section)

==Current British grammar schools==
Today, ''grammar school'' commonly refers to one of the 163 remaining fully [[Selective school|selective]] [[State-funded schools (England)|state-funded schools]] in England and the 69 remaining in Northern Ireland. The [[National Grammar Schools Association]] campaigns in favour of such schools,<ref>[http://www.ngsa.org.uk/ Welcome to the National Grammar Schools Association]</ref> while Comprehensive Future and the [[Campaign for State Education]] campaign against them.<ref>[http://www.comprehensivefuture.org.uk/ Comprehensive Future]</ref><ref>[http://www.campaignforstateeducation.org.uk/ Campaign for State Education]</ref> A [[University College London]] study has shown that UK grammar school pupils gain no significant social or emotional advantages by the age of 14 over similarly gifted pupils in non-selective schools.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/may/23/grammar-school-pupils-gain-no-social-or-emotional-advantages-by-age-14 Grammar school pupils 'gain no social or emotional advantages' by age 14] ''[[The Guardian]]''</ref>

===England===
{{See also|List of grammar schools in England}}
[[File:Reading_School_Main_Building_Side_View.jpg|thumb|[[Reading School]] traces its history back to the school of Reading Abbey (1125), making it one of the oldest schools in England.]]
England has a long history of grammar schools. Curricula differ from school to school but generally includes English language, English literature, mathematics, computer science, physics, chemistry, biology, geography, art and design, music, drama, design and technology, history, philosophy, [[civics]]/citizenship, classical education, religious education, physical education, and several other foreign languages. Most English grammar schools follow the [[National Curriculum for England|National Curriculum]] and follow the same broad national exams as other state schools.

[[File:Grammar school ballots in England.svg|thumb|right|alt=map of English local authorities (9 filled) with 37 scattered filled circles|Grammar school areas and groups as identified by the Education (Grammar School Ballots) Regulations 1998.<ref name="SI 1998:2876">{{UK SI |year=1998 |number=2876 |title=The Education (Grammar School Ballots) Regulations 1998 |made=19 November 1998 |force=3 December 1998 }}.</ref> LEAs considered grammar areas are shown filled, while circles indicate isolated grammar schools or clusters of neighbouring schools.]]
Under the Labour government's [[School Standards and Framework Act 1998]], grammar schools were for the first time to be designated by [[statutory instrument]].<ref>{{UK SI |year=1998 |number=2219 |title=The Education (Grammar School Designation) Order 1998 |made=6 September 1998 |force=1 October 1998 }}</ref><ref>{{UK SI |year=1999 |number=2456 |title=The Education (Grammar School Designation) (Amendment) Order 1999 |made=27 August 1999 |force=1 September 1999 }}.</ref> The Act also defined a procedure by which local communities could petition for a ballot for an end to selection at schools.<ref name="SI 1998:2876"/><ref>{{cite web
| title       = A guide to petitions and ballots about grammar school admissions
| publisher   = Department for Education and Schools
| year        = 2000
| url         = http://www.dfes.gov.uk/gsballots/main.shtml
| archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20050226233727/http://www.dfes.gov.uk/gsballots/main.shtml
| archive-date = 26 February 2005
}}</ref> Petitions were launched in several areas, but only one received the signatures of 20% of eligible parents, the level needed to trigger a ballot.<ref>{{cite news
| title  = Campaign against 11-plus is faltering
| author = Judith Judd
| date   = 28 March 2000
| work   = [[The Independent]]
| url    = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/campaign-against-11plus-is-faltering-697931.html
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080603152338/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/campaign-against-11plus-is-faltering-697931.html
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = 3 June 2008
}}</ref> Thus the only ballot held to date was for [[Ripon Grammar School]] in 2000, when parents rejected change by a ratio of 2 to 1.<ref>{{cite web
 |title=Grammar school ballots 
 |url=http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/atoz/g/Grammar_school_ballots/ 
 |access-date=15 April 2010 |publisher=teachernet 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110412210516/http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/atoz/g/Grammar_school_ballots 
 |archive-date=12 April 2011
}}</ref> These arrangements were condemned in 2004 by the Select Committee for Education and Skills as being ineffective and a waste of time and resources.<ref>{{cite web
| title     = Select Committee on Education and Skills Fourth Report
| publisher = UK Parliament
| date      = 14 July 2004
| url       = https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmselect/cmeduski/58/5802.htm
}}</ref>

There remain 163 grammar schools in England (out of some 3,000 state secondaries in total).<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-34538222 BBC: Family and education: 8 September 2016]</ref> Only a few areas have kept a formal grammar school system along the lines of the Tripartite System. In these areas, the [[eleven plus exam]] is used solely to identify a subset of children (around 25%) considered suitable for grammar education. When a grammar school has too many qualified applicants, other criteria are used to allocate places, such as siblings, distance or faith. Such systems still exist in Buckinghamshire, Rugby and Stratford districts of Warwickshire, the Salisbury district of Wiltshire and most of Lincolnshire, Kent, Reading and Medway.<ref>{{cite web | title = Admissions to secondary school 2009 booklet | publisher = Kent County Council | year = 2009 | page = 4 | url = https://shareweb.kent.gov.uk/Documents/education-and-learning/school-education/finding%20the%20right%20school/Admissions/adm-sec-book-10.pdf | access-date = 31 May 2009 | archive-date = 5 March 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120305190931/https://shareweb.kent.gov.uk/Documents/education-and-learning/school-education/finding%20the%20right%20school/Admissions/adm-sec-book-10.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |title=Secondary admissions 
 |publisher=Medway Council 
 |year=2010 
 |url=http://www.medway.gov.uk/educationandlearning/schoolsandcolleges/admissions/secondaryadmissions.aspx 
 |access-date=2 November 2010 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101229235207/http://medway.gov.uk/educationandlearning/schoolsandcolleges/admissions/secondaryadmissions.aspx 
 |archive-date=29 December 2010
}}</ref> Of metropolitan areas, Trafford and most of Wirral are selective.<ref>{{cite journal
| title     = The Comparative Evaluation of GCSE Value-Added Performance by Type of School and LEA
| author    = David Jesson
| year      = 2000
| periodical = Discussion Papers in Economics 2000/52, Centre for Performance Evaluation and Resource Management, University of York
| url       = http://www.york.ac.uk/media/economics/documents/discussionpapers/2000/0052.pdf
| access-date = 11 October 2010
}}</ref><ref>{{cite conference
 |title=The impact of selection on pupil performance 
 |author=Ian Schagen and Sandie Schagen 
 |date=19 October 2001 |book-title=Council of Members Meeting 
 |publisher=[[National Foundation for Educational Research]] 
 |url=http://www.emie.ac.uk/publications/other-publications/conference-papers/pdf_docs/schagen01.PDF 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104035917/http://www.emie.ac.uk/publications/other-publications/conference-papers/pdf_docs/schagen01.PDF 
 |archive-date=4 January 2012
}}</ref>

In other areas, grammar schools survive mainly as very highly selective schools in an otherwise comprehensive county, for example in several of the outer boroughs of London. These schools are often heavily oversubscribed, and award places in rank order of performance in their entry tests. In some [[Local education authority|LEAs]], as many as 10–15% of 11-year-olds may attend grammar schools (for example in Gloucestershire), but in other LEAs it is as low as 2%. These very highly selective schools also tend to dominate the top positions in performance tables.<ref>{{cite news
| title    = Grammars show they can compete with best
| author   = Sian Griffiths
| work     = The Sunday Times
| date     = 18 November 2007
| url      = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article2889322.ece
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100601173510/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article2889322.ece
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = 1 June 2010
| location = London}}</ref>

In addition to and distinct from grammar schools, selection for entry to state schools also continues at [[Partially selective school (England)|partially-selective schools]] (sometimes known as bilateral schools). While technically classified as [[comprehensive schools]], they occupy a middle ground between grammar schools and true comprehensives, and many of the arguments for and against grammar schools also apply to these schools.

Further radical change was opposed by both Conservative and Labour governments until September 2016.  Although many on the left argue that the existence of selective schools undermines the comprehensive structure, Labour governments have delegated decisions on grammar schools to local processes, which have not yet resulted in any changes. Moreover, government education policy appears to accept the existence of some kind of hierarchy in secondary education, with [[specialist school]]s, [[academy (English school)|academies]] and similar initiatives proposed as ways of raising standards. Many grammar schools have featured in these programmes, and a lower level of selection is permitted at specialist schools.<ref>{{cite news
| title  = Anger over Labour's grammar school deal
| author = Richard Garner | work = [[The Independent]] | date = 1 December 2001
| url    = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/anger-over-labours-grammar-school-deal-619464.html
| archive-url = https://archive.today/20130420140828/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/anger-over-labours-grammar-school-deal-619464.html
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = 20 April 2013
}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Clyde Chitty |date=16 November 2002 |title=The Right to a Comprehensive Education |url=http://www.socialisteducation.org.uk/CB2.htm |journal=SEA |version=Second Caroline Benn Memorial Lecture}}</ref>

In September 2016, Prime Minister [[Theresa May]] reversed the previous [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] policy against expansion of grammar schools (except to cope with population expansion in wholly selective areas).<ref name="Guardian 9/9/16">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/sep/09/theresa-may-to-end-ban-on-new-grammar-schools |author1=Heather Stewart |author2=Peter Walker |newspaper=Guardian |date=9 September 2016 |title=Theresa May to end ban on new grammar schools}}</ref> The government opened a consultation on proposals to allow existing grammar schools to expand and new ones to be set up.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Roberts |first1=Nerys |last2=Long |first2=Robert |last3=Foster |first3=David |date=3 October 2018 |title=Recent policy developments: Grammar schools in England |url=http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/SN07070 |journal=House of Commons Library}}</ref> The [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] and [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrat]] parties remain opposed to any expansion.<ref name="Guardian 9/9/16"/>

===Northern Ireland===
{{See also|List of grammar schools in Northern Ireland}}
Attempts to move to a comprehensive system (as in the rest of the United Kingdom) have been delayed by shifts in the administration of [[Northern Ireland]].
As a result, Northern Ireland still maintains the grammar school system, with many pupils being entered for academic selection exams similar to the 11-plus. Since the "open enrolment" reform of 1989, these schools (unlike those in England) have been required to accept pupils up to their capacity, which has also increased.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Eric Maurin |author2=Sandra McNally |date=August 2007 |title=Educational Effects of Widening Access to the Academic Track: A Natural Experiment |url=http://cee.lse.ac.uk/cee%20dps/ceedp85.pdf |journal=[[London School of Economics]] |publisher=Centre for the Economics of Education, [[London School of Economics]], Discussion Paper 85 |access-date=4 April 2008 |archive-date=3 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081003105858/http://cee.lse.ac.uk/cee%20dps/ceedp85.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> By 2006, the 69 grammar schools took 42% of transferring children, and only 7 of them took all of their intake from the top 30% of the cohort.<ref>{{cite web
 |title=Education Minister's Statement for the Stormont Education Committee 
 |author=Caitríona Ruane 
 |date=31 January 2008 |url=http://www.deni.gov.uk/index/85-schools/6-admission-and-choice/statement_for_the_education_committee_48_kb_.pdf 
 |access-date=4 April 2008 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081003105901/http://www.deni.gov.uk/index/85-schools/6-admission-and-choice/statement_for_the_education_committee_48_kb_.pdf 
 |archive-date=3 October 2008
}}</ref>
[[File:Coleraine Academical Institution.jpg|thumb|[[Coleraine Academical Institution]] (1860)]]
The 11-plus has long been controversial, and Northern Ireland's political parties have taken opposing positions. Unionists tend to lean towards preserving the grammar schools as they are, with academic selection at the age of 11, whereas nationalist politicians lean towards scrapping the 11-plus, despite vehement protestations from the majority of Catholic Grammar Schools, most notably by the board of governors at [[Rathmore Grammar School]] in Finaghy, (a South Belfast suburb) and Lumen Christi (although co-educational) in Derry. 

The [[Democratic Unionist Party]] claimed to have ensured the continuation of the grammar school system in the province as part of the [[St Andrews Agreement]] in October 2006. By contrast, [[Sinn Féin]] claims to have secured the abolition of the 11-plus and a veto over any system which might follow it.

The last government-run 11-plus exam was held in 2008 (for 2009 entry),<ref>{{cite press release
 |title=Minister Ruane outlines education reforms 
 |date=4 December 2007 |publisher=Department of Education, Northern Ireland 
 |url=http://www.northernireland.gov.uk/news/news-de/news-de-041207-minister-ruane-outlines.htm 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201094535/http://www.northernireland.gov.uk/news/news-de/news-de-041207-minister-ruane-outlines.htm 
 |archive-date=1 December 2008 }}</ref> but the [[Northern Ireland Assembly]] has not been able to agree on a replacement system for secondary transfer. The grammar schools have organised groupings to run their own tests, the Post-Primary Transfer Consortium (mostly Catholic schools) and the Association for Quality Education.<ref>{{cite news
 |title='Test' schools accept D grade pupils 
 |first=Lisa 
 |last=Smith 
 |date=17 December 2007 |work=Belfast Telegraph 
 |url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/education/test-schools-accept-d-grade-pupils-13503064.html
|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130419193405/http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/education/test-schools-accept-d-grade-pupils-13503064.html
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=19 April 2013
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| title = Schools guard against test cheats
| work  = BBC | date = 28 April 2009 | first = Maggie | last = Taggart
| url   = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/8023338.stm
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
 |title=Parents put their faith in new entrance tests 
 |work=Belfast Telegraph 
 |date=22 August 2009 |first=Kathryn 
 |last=Torney 
 |url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/education/post-primary-selection/parents-put-their-faith-in-new-entrance-tests-14351100.html
|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130419204924/http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/education/post-primary-selection/parents-put-their-faith-in-new-entrance-tests-14351100.html
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=19 April 2013
}}</ref>
The Northern Ireland Commission for Catholic Education did accept continued selection at Catholic grammar schools as a temporary measure, anticipating them to end the practice by 2012.<ref>{{cite news
| title = The Minister is losing control of the schools transfer system
| first = Kathryn | last = Torney
| work  = Belfast Telegraph | date = 3 March 2009
| url   = http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/education/the-minister-is-losing-control-of-the-schools-transfer-system-14249995.html
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| title = Professor Tony Gallagher, head of the School of Education at Queen's, answers readers' queries....
| work  = Belfast Telegraph | date = 10 August 2009
| url   = http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/education/professor-tony-gallagher-head-of-the-school-of-education-at-queenrsquos-answers-readersrsquo-queries-14448449.html
}}</ref> As of September 2019, the practice continues.