Why white children are not getting into grammar schools

[deanstreet]

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/02/11/why-white-children-are-not-getting-into-grammar-schools/?WT.mc_id=tmgoff_fb_photo_not-getting-into-grammar-schools

My view is if grammars didn't exist, and everyone went to the local comp, they would have more pressure to improve. Because they'd have to.

Non-paywall link https://archive.is/4N79F - it's not difficult to have the basic respect to get the free version @deanstreet

'In their own game'? What do you mean by that?

It’s nothing to do with valuing education they want the same outcomes and will top up with tutoring rather than pit their kids in such a single focus environment

Agree

What game?

It selects the top performers on the day. That’s it.

Your point is irrelevant

I agree re comps. My two nephews did extremely well in an area with no grammar schools, you had a choice of private or comp. I suspect the number of bright children with invested parents drove up results and ambition. One of my local comps (an area where no official grammars but selective group of schools creamed off the brightest and/or most tutored) had a huge number of pupils with special needs and/or fsm. How can these schools thrive ? (I’m thinking of you, Hertfordshire).

The government will use Children Services and "emotional harm" to slow them down

The growing influx of Hong Kongers in SW London are very focused on grammars

The best schools are stuffed with pushy parents.

People who value education and whose kids tend to do so too , as well as respecting the teachers . That is WHY they are the best performing schools 🤷‍♀️

Yes, London mainly has comprehensive. For some reason there are 19 grammars - they all seem to be in outer boroughs.

I think some of that might be because the white working class people who are locals do not necessarily have white children. Especially in those urban areas. Doesn't mean those children arent part of a white British family by any means.

A quick google shows the grammar I attended has 69.5% of their pupils as white British, where as the comp I attended in the same area has 74% white British and the local girls grammar has 81% white British. A quick google also says around 90% of residents of the town are white British. So there is minimal difference between the two schools.

I went to a grammar school myself and don’t think they should exist any longer; a system that serves all should be preferred.
But as they still do, and as they take the strongest performers on the day of the test, it’s ridiculous to dispute the outcome of that if you agree with the system as a whole.
There’s a huge culture of anti-intellectualism and anti-expertise among certain groups in the UK and we are seeing the fruits of this now.

And they are incredibly competitive

Same here. I think 12 from my daughter’s junior school (little village school) got in the year she started. Ten white out of the 12.

is op inferring some nefarious practices going on, favouring non white kids? Or is the article suggesting that ? I’d say the opposite for my child’s school as the catchment area is very white and out of catchment you need a higher mark in the exam. Majority of non white kids are out of catchment.

As far as I know, Grammar schools are not void of the presence of white children!

In some communities attending a grammar school is so highly prized the amount of work the kids are made to do borders on abuse.

Anecdotal, but a family friend insisted on her child doing several hours of work every day in the months before taking the grammar school exam (having already been doing extra work at home for years with this aim) and even removed them from school for a whole week before the test just to cram and cram and cram.

Perhaps for some families it's worth it. Personally I don't think it is. It's a personal choice

I know it’s not strictly on topic but it’s not irrelevant. It shows you that an incredibly bright person who would have been at the top end of a grammar couldn’t pass the test, despite attending teacher-led preparation classes at school. DC1 actually took two 11+ exams for two different local authorities so it wasn’t a case of having an off day.

To me it is an example of what a poor selection tool the 11+ is. Presumably this is one of the reasons why most of the country abandoned it.

I went to a grammar myself. We all passed the 11+. There were several in my class who should not have done. My best friend from primary did not pass and is one of the most intelligent people I have ever met. (I’m still in regular contact with her).

I think people are forgetting there are grammars & then there are grammars. The top ones in the entire country will have fewer white pupils.

I was a white working class kid who failed the 11+ back in the 1950s. My parents would never have afforded the uniform and bus fare so it was probably to the good.
I went to uni as a mature student, rose through the educational system and gained a PhD. I was an acedemic for 10 years but am now retired from employed work.I do some private online tutoring at post grad level. I prefer international/ethnic minority students because they are incredibly had working and respectful. They come from a culture where authority figures are respected. Some (white) students have an unfortunate "I pay your wages I want some service" attitude.

Stats on ethnicity of pupils are available

https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2024-25?subjectId=8c41e872-5055-482d-688e-08ddf5e3692f

You can drill down by area if you want.

I went to a Grammar School ..it was a pretty mediocre experience where the results were linked to the students abilities and not the teaching.

As these are selective schools who cares who they select

It just shows that the grammar is very selective.

As a comparison, lots of Oxbridge applicants get turned down every year. Only the brightest apply in the first place. So plenty of of very clever people are rejected every year.

it’s the nature of a selective system. It’s rationing .

Plenty who don’t get in would have thrived if they had.