Government’s grammar school funding won’t improve children’s outcomes

Grammar school pupils do not gain any advantage over children who do not attend a grammar school by age 14, according to a new study from UCL. In the first study of its kind, researchers from the UCL Institute of Education (IOE) looked at a range of social and emotional outcomes, including young people's engagement and well-being at school, their aspirations for the future, in addition to educational attainment levels, to determine the benefits of attending a grammar school. After comparing how grammar and non-grammar school pupils faired across a range of cognitive, social and emotional outcomes, researchers found attending a grammar school had no positive impact upon teenagers' attitudes towards schools, self-esteem, future aspirations or their English vocabulary. "Our findings suggest that the money the government is planning to spend on grammar school expansion is unlikely to bring benefits for young people. Even those children who are likely to fill these new places are unlikely to be happier, more engaged at school or have higher levels of academic achievement by the end of Year 9," said lead author of the study, Professor John Jerrim (IOE). Co-author, Sam Sims (IOE) added, "Schools across the country are already hard-pressed financially. Our research suggests that the government would be better off directing their money towards areas of existing need, rather than expanding grammar schools." The paper analysed data from 883 children in England and 733 children in Northern Ireland from the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) who had similar academic achievements at primary school and came from families with similar incomes and education levels.