Grammar schools to be means tested for free places

For clarity, they can give priority to pupils eligible for the pupil premium (all children receiving FSM are eligible for the pupil premium) provided this is stated in their oversubscription criteria. That is the only situation in which a state school can take parental income into account. They cannot, under any circumstances, choose to admit a pupil just because their parents are higher earners.

There are grammar schools where x / x% of places do go to those who achieve the required academic standard and also fall into a 'priority group' (which includes Service Premium, those eligible for benefits-based free school meals etc as well as those in or previously in care). When grammar schools were competing for extra funding to allow them to expand a few years ago, including such priority groups in their ranking of applicants was a prerequisite- hence HBS changing its entrance policy from a purely score-ranked one (although it wasn't one of the successful schools anyway).

Our local grammar schools all have this kind of policy, with priority allocations within both the IC and OOC allocations.

But it's not 'means testing' meaning that fees are payable by those not in the 'needy' category. Although I wonder whether someone has picked up on the policy of a nearby school? (Which in itself would be intriguing, as ime, reading school oversubscription criteria is a very, very niche activity, even amongst parents actively applying for school places).

Exactly

To be fair, the title of your thread is an incorrect statement, not a question.

Maybe there's a private school in their area called Something Grammar which has means tested bursaries?

Grammar schools are state schools and are not allowed to charge any fees. Private schools only are fee based

Think you may have got the wrong end of the stick Op or your school friend mums are dense

well, then, you know state schools are not means tested.

how would that even work? Who at a state school is set up to assess parental income and send out bills? how would the money be collected and what would be done with it? What would happen to children who's parents were late paying?

State schools are completely without the apparatus to even begin to manage fees. Surely that is obvious????

@dera35 then I am puzzled why some parents thought entrance to grammar school was means tested.

Henrietta Barnett School in London gives preferential access to looked after children, children living within a 3 mile radius of the school ... and children eligible for pupil premium.

This is not means testing OP.
If a private school has one place and they have two potential pupils with the exact same marks on the entrance exam will use other factors to decide who to accept. That could be sporting prowess. But you would not say the school is selecting pupils on the basis of who can run fastest.
Your private school mums do not sound very bright if they can misunderstand this concept so spectacularly.

Agree.
Its usually based on distance, siblings already at the school and looked after kids.

I was not aware that Grammar schools did means tested allocation in case of a ‘tie’ between students

They don’t.

Maybe these parents are thinking that, with the imposing of VAT on private schools, some will seek to wholly or partially enter the state sector? IF that was the case then MAYBE they might go through a transition where affluent parents paid but there were free means tested places in them? I have heard absolutely nothing to suggest this has been proposed by anyone but it might be a way to deal with good schools which will otherwise become financially unviable.

But this would be nothing to do with existing state grammars.

The school do not means test themselves its based on free school meals.

As an aside our two local grammars do not select based on FSM. The places are given when 11+ results are the same to those that live the closest to the school

If there were VAT on PE, I'd have been over the moon, as my mother wouldn't have paid it... but that was when PE meant physical education/running around a frozen-muddy field in November with a teacher in a warm tracksuit complained we weren't moving our frozen blue legs fast enough, not this month where it's apparently become the way to described independent education.🙂

This is not going to happen.
Other things that will not happen:
Aliens are not going to land in the UK in the next few years.
The Royal Family are not lizards.
And dinosaurs are not going to be brought back to life like Jurassic Park.

OP there are a lot of conspiracy theories going round. When someone tells you something that seems unlikely ask them where it was reported. If it is in a mainstream newspaper fair enough. If it is Joe Bloggs blog bringing you the hidden truth they do not want you to know - then ignore it.

Grammar schools are state schools (apart from a few private schools that call themselves grammar ). So perhaps you should re- title the thread, are we going to be charged for state education?

Why should grammar school parents be charged, and not affluent parents in wealthy areas. Eg leafy Surrey or Hertfordshire?