Britain set for new grammar schools as plans drawn up following PM’s policy change
Essex, Windsor, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Kent just some of the counties lining up to open education establishments
PLANS for dozens of new grammar schools across the country have already been drawn up — just days after the PM signalled a change in policy.
Councils in Essex, Windsor, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Kent have signalled they will be seeking to open new selective schools as soon as possible.
Education Secretary Justine Greening is expected to unveil the government’s full plans in what is expected to be a heated Commons showdown.
She is also planning to launch a 12 week consultation on the issue.
Ms. Greening will be met with opposition from Labour, as well as internal criticism from the government benches — with her predecessor demanding answers.
Former Education Secretary Nicky Morgan told The Sun that she would be “asking how the Government will ensure that those areas of the country where results continue to be poor and expectations low, will benefit from the change in policy.”
But the Home Secretary defended the plans, insisting that the government is not “going back to the Fifties”.
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Amber Rudd, who attended the Cheltenham Ladies’ College, a private school in Gloucestershire, said she was a grammar school “enthusiast” as she defended proposals to lift the ban on new selective schools.
Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show she hailed a new era of “arts schools, music schools and yes selective.”
The announcement comes as Labour vowed to block the move with Jeremy Corbyn saying: “if these divisive plans go ahead, I will make it a top priority to reverse them when Labour is back in power.”
He added: “It is investment in our children and schools that will fix the classroom crisis — not a return to selective education.”
Meanwhile it emerged that Kent county council — who already have permission for a new girls grammar — plan to open a selective boys school in the same building in Sevenoaks.
Thurrock in Essex — who are currently a 100 per cent comprehensive council — has met will local schools bodies to forge plans for grammar places.
Windsor and Maidenhead, Central Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire are also also reportedly preparing to open new grammar schools.
And in Sutton, South London, a grammar school is seeking to open a satellite several miles away in Croydon.