Grammar schools fail to help middle-income families

Selective education harms the university prospects of bright pupils who just miss out on a place at a grammar school, according to new research from the UCL Institute of Education (IOE), University of Bristol and University of Warwick. Primary school children in areas with a selective education system who perform well in Key Stage 2 assessments but do not manage to get into a grammar school are 3 percentage points less likely to attend university and 8 percentage points less likely to attend a high quality university compared to similar peers in non-selective areas. They are also less likely to get a good degree (2:1 or above), and have a greater chance of dropping out.  ?By comparing higher education outcomes between those attending similar schools in selective compared to non-selective areas, we show that the outcomes for those who just miss out on attending a grammar are significantly worse than the outcomes for similar pupils attending similar schools in non-selective areas. This is a prime example of the harm a selective system can do to attainment and later life chances,' said Dr Lindsey Macmillan (IOE), co-author of the study 'Assessing the role of grammar schools in promoting social mobility'. The research looked at two aspects of social mobility - the differences in higher education outcomes for children across the range of socio-economic backgrounds in a selective compared with a non-selective area, and the chances of getting into a grammar school by social background for pupils within the selective system.