To think funding new grammar and faith schools is a bad idea.

[ConstantlyCold]

Just that really. This will benefit pushy middle classes (like me) but not the kids that really need investing in.

Stupid idea.

Agree. I don't support grammar or faith schools. We should be investing in high quality comprehensive education.

I think it's utter crap tbh but I wouldn't expect anything less than this sort of bollocks from the Conservatives

I do agree with grammar schools and if we had one near us then my daughter would have been sent there.

But I don't think now is the right time to trot this out when schools everywhere in the state system are having to make extremely difficult choices about staff and the provision of arts type lessons etc. They really not thought about the implications and how the public will see this.

It’s bonkers!

And even if you agree with Grammar Schools given how little of the country is served by them (thankfully in my opinion) this is only going to have a minimal effect on a minimal amount of people but at a massive cost.

It’s almost a pity thing isn’t it “well help those poorer children and we will give you some extra money”

if we had one near us then my daughter would have been sent there

I have to admit if we had one near us I would send my kids. Still think it’s a bad idea though.

I agree that ideally all schools should be good and offer the same opportunities. However we have a shortage of money and teachers. Therefore the resources are now going to be directed towards the ‘top’. If your child is bright then it is probably fantastic news.

I think you shouldn’t have to sit separate exams though, everyone already does SATS so why can’t it be based on those results? At least then all children would have a chance.

Agree ! I would rather see good schools with a mix of faiths and social classes . That’s what the UK bloody well needs

It’s not going to happen under a conservative govt though

I won’t be in the faith school
System soon and I know we will see a drop in my children’s schooling but I refuse to fake it (as many do ) doesn’t sit with me

if we had on near us my daughter would have been sent there

But it's selective. You can't assume she would have been awarded a place. Indeed a key factor in the launch of comprehensive education was middle class angst when their children failed to make the grade. And a key factor in the growth of midrange independents was as a safety net for many of these children so they didn't have to go to the local secondary modern.

To be honest, I am a supporter of grammar schools, I was brought up on a south London council estate, and going to a grammar school changed my life completely. Having said that, I am governor in local primary schools, and we have seen 'real' funding cuts which have meant we have virtually no TA support in the schools now, the music provision has had to go, and every teacher has to double think about every resource they need/want. If any government wants to put extra funding in place, it should be at the grass-roots level, to ensure children reach secondary school able to read. write add up and be socially adept, not try to 'fix' the problem at the age of 11/12.

Disadvantaged kids are invested in. They get extra money.

All the time parents can apply for instead of getting given school places via a lottery system and county funding varies so widely you'll never have a truely comprehensive system.

Figment without sounding boastful, yes I can guarantee she'd have got a place in one. She's in the top 2%.

I would prefer more specialist 14 - 18 schools. Some could be academic (ie Grammar), STEM, arts and media, vocational etc.
11 - 14 should be comprehensive 'middle school'.

Complete and utter divisive shit.

All children are worth investing in, middle class or not.

I don't have a problem with there being new grammar schools, I think it's a good thing. There are children whose needs are better met in a grammar school environment but there aren't enough grammar school places for those children. I don't see how providing them with the best possible education for them can be a bad thing, either for them as individuals or society as a whole.

Faith schools are a different matter, faith is not fact, and there's no reason why families who want their children to be educated into their own faith can't do that themselves in their own time. Children don't need highly educated specialists to teach faith in the way they do with academic subjects.

Funding grammar schools shouldn't be a problem as long as we are also well funding comprehensive and special schools so that all children get the education they need.

Yes, I think it's ridiculous, but this is what you get with a Conservative government.

And I say that as someone whose partner and all his friends went to a grammar school, and had a significantly better education than I did in the village college system (no grammars).

All selective schools should be abolished. Secular education should be the norm. Social integration is the key to bridging the gap and trying to move past the feudal system that's alone and well in the UK.
That's my manifesto in any case.

To be honest, I am a supporter of grammar schools, I was brought up on a south London council estate, and going to a grammar school changed my life completely

But shouldn’t every child have those opportunities not just those who can pass an exam at 11?

Completely stupid. And divisive. And counter productive. But that's Tories for you...

I'm unconvinced about grammar schools. My understanding is the data doesn't support them.

If the local community wants a faith school and has the numbers to make it practical. I don't have a problem with it. My experience of faith school has been positive. As long as there are non religious local options, I don't see why it's a problem.

Agree

Divisive and pushes children further apart in terms of opportunities

I went to a grammar school and in general think it would be a good idea to fund new ones. It's hypocritical to enjoy the benefits and then pull up the drawbridge afterwards. Having said that, some of the kids who went to our local secondary modern school did very well, better than some of us! One girl went on to teach maths and music; she just developed later

This old chestnut AGAIN and from people who have no experience of living in a grammar area, or being educated in one.

I was born and brought up in the third poorest London Borough which still retains grammar schools. Numerous studies show social mobility had ceased since the decline of the grammar school. why? because socialists like to keep the working classes in their little boxes where they can be controlled.

My area is 92% white, 8% Black and other ethnics minority groups. Having worked in them, broadly the faith and grammar schools are 30+% black and ethnic pupils. Immigrant children.

How dare you say they are 'privileged' - unless of course this 'white privilege mooted is a myth.

It never ceases to amaze me the hypocrisy this board regurgitates time and time again. Always we need 'special schools' to meet educational needs - except those of the brightest of course, who should be left to sink with the rest.

There are children whose needs are better met in a grammar school environment

But these children are far more likely to come from affluent areas where the parents are able to pay for tutition.

I’m one of those parents who has fairly bright kids. Nothing special but they are quite bright. I can throw money at tutors to try and make sure my kids pass the exams. Lots of people simply do not have this as an option.

It's hypocritical to enjoy the benefits and then pull up the drawbridge afterwards

And it’s incredibly naive to think kids from deprived backgrounds have the same chance of achieving a place in a grander school as those with affluent parents.

Grammar schools do not contribute to social mobility. They may have done in the days when children who did not go to grammar schools had no opportunity to go on to further education, but they do not now. They simply perpetuate social segregation.