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Comprehensive Future

@compfuture.bsky.social
87 followers 458 following 52 posts

Campaigning for fair school admissions and an end to the 11-plus. UK education & policy.

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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 2h
We support the theme of this year's CASE conference. Selection tests at age 10 and 11 make so many children stressed and miserable. "Why are so many children unhappy at school? And what we can do about it." 📅 Saturday 10th October 🕙 10am to 4pm 📍London Greenwich www.campaignforstateeducation.org.uk
campaignforstateeducation.org.uk
Home | Campaign For State Education (CASE)
Since its inception in 1960, CASE has campaigned for an education system that works for all children, is in tune with modern educational thought, and is democratically accountable. We recognise that ...
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 20h
CF's take on Andy Burnham's speech yesterday. #UKEd #UKEducation comprehensivefuture.org.uk/the-son-of-a...
comprehensivefuture.org.uk
“The son of a man who failed his 11-plus”: Andy Burnham supports comprehensive education – Comprehensive Future
At the Labour Party Conference today, Prime Minister Andy Burnham made an unusually clear commitment: “We will rebuild a system of comprehensive ... Read more
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
“The son of a man who failed the 11-plus becoming Prime Minister.” A moving line from Andy Burnham today, and a reminder that no test at 10 or 11 should be allowed to limit a child’s future. Comprehensive education opens up opportunity. Selection rations it. www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...
theguardian.com
Burnham says he would put PR in Labour manifesto and scrap triple lock to fund social care – UK politics live
PM, in first speech to party conference as leader, insists his plans are a ‘good deal’ for older people
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Can England build a comprehensive future—or are we still looking back to a tripartite past? @murraym965.bsky.social considers selection, vocational education and what genuine inclusion demands in our latest Future Thoughts article. comprehensivefuture.org.uk/a-comprehens...
comprehensivefuture.org.uk
A Comprehensive Future, Not a Tripartite Past – Comprehensive Future
By Mike Murray The success of Andy Burnham’s education policy, led by Lucy Powell, is going to hinge on whether they can ... Read more
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Grammar schools’ results cannot be separated from the pupils they select. Major new QUB research finds that differences in outcomes are largely attributable to pupil intake—not school effectiveness—and calls for an end to high-stakes selection at 10 & 11. comprehensivefuture.org.uk/academic-sel...
comprehensivefuture.org.uk
Academic selection reinforces inequality, major new study finds – Comprehensive Future
The largest recent study of academic selection in Northern Ireland finds little evidence that it improves outcomes or social mobility, and strong ... Read more
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
A major new QUB study finds academic selection at 10–11: • reinforces inequality • puts children under pressure • narrows the primary curriculum • offers little evidence of improved social mobility Selection concentrates advantage. It doesn’t create it. www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/norther...
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
New QUB study finds NI academic selection process poses ‘educational inequalities’
New QUB research exposes how NI grammar school entrance tests fuel educational inequality and stress, and outlines evidence-based options for reform.
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Tuition for 3 year olds, 11-plus homeschool bootcamps for a year... The crazy fight to win grammar school places is no good for children and has no educational point. Why do we let this continue? inews.co.uk/news/educati...
inews.co.uk
'Will you tutor a 3-year-old?': Inside 11+ arms race fuelled by private school VAT
From year-long bootcamps to 6am lessons - private tutors reveal the wildest asks from parents facing increasing competition for grammar school places
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Grammar schools do NOT have an intake representative of their local area. This is the problem. Funny that some sectors of the press only notice when it's about ethnicity. Why do they never shout about the low numbers of disadvantaged and SEND pupils in grammars? www.gbnews.com/news/grammar...
gbnews.com
Under half of grammar school pupils are white British as enrolments 'fallen spectacularly'
Parental anxiety has been one of the issues raised
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
"The 11 plus was unfair because it consisted of a single test, taken on a single day, at the end of primary school." Abigail failed the test in 1970, but more than 50 years later, children are still being divided by a one-off test. abigailsheppard.substack.com/p/this-is-th...
abigailsheppard.substack.com
This is the story of my experience of the 11 plus exam, for which I very much hope time is indeed up
#timesupforthetest
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
'The uncomfortable truth for education policymakers is that high-performing schools rarely pass exams on their own - families pass them.' A thoughtful article about the subtle ways schools use admissions to admit the pupils with the 'right' sort of parents. www.tes.com/magazine/ana...
tes.com
How some schools turn parent power into an unfair advantage
The real differentiator between top-performing state schools and the rest is something policymakers won’t speak about - the ability to curate an engaged parent cohort, says this headteacher
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Good luck to every child sitting the 11-plus in Kent and Buckinghamshire today. Whatever happens, one test at 10 or 11 cannot measure your worth, your potential or everything you’re capable of. We wish the children well. We just wish they didn’t have to be divided at 11.
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Just 1 in 10 pupils at Kent and Medway grammar schools are eligible for free school meals, compared with 3 in 10 at non-selective schools. Tutoring is only part of the problem. Any test used to decide who gets access to a state school creates a barrier to entry. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Kent charity seeks to 'level playing field' with 11-plus
AIM Kent offers free tutoring sessions for children from low-income households.
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Worth noting that England is now also outperforming Northern Ireland with its grammar schools, which use to get similar results. Comprehensive education works!
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
When access to a state school depends on passing a high-stakes test, parents who can afford it will pay for every possible advantage. "The 11-plus has created an industry in which anxiety about a child’s future school can be monetised." schoolsweek.co.uk/600-for-prac...
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
BBC Radio 4 looks back at 50 years of comprehensive education. But the comprehensive revolution was never completed. Grammar schools and the non-selective schools alongside them remain a significant part of England's school system today. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
bbc.co.uk
BBC Radio 4 - Archive on 4, Comps
The schools revolution of 1976 to replace grammars and secondary moderns with comps.
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
An extraordinary insight into the 11-plus arms race. £10,000 tutors. Study for hours every day. Children developing speech impediments and soiling themselves under extreme pressure. It doesn't have to be like this. 😔https://www.the-londoner.co.uk/london-elite-grammar-schools-qeb-henrietta-barnett/
the-londoner.co.uk
Inside the crazy fight to get into London grammar schools
Competition has never been so fierce - or as deranged
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
"As long as grammar schools exist, the myth of meritocracy lives on." An interesting article by a former grammar pupil who argues that selective schools are not the answer to educational inequality. www.varsity.co.uk/comment/31786
varsity.co.uk
The myth of the grammar school
Holly Farrell examines the position of grammar schools within England's educational system and argues that they're not the answer to educational inequality
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Andy Burnham has been making the case for comprehensive education for more than a decade. From "I oppose selection with everything I've got" to "call time on the test", we've brought together some of his key comments on grammar schools and fair admissions. comprehensivefuture.org.uk/prime-minist...
comprehensivefuture.org.uk
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has long been one of the strongest political voices against school selection – Comprehensive Future
As Andy Burnham settles into Downing Street, Comprehensive Future is highlighting his longstanding support for comprehensive education and fair school admissions — ... Read more
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Kent County Council is spending £7.2m to expand a grammar school. The complexity of selective place planning wastes public money. How many children will sit the exam? How many will pass? Will they be boys or girls? Why not simply build schools that work for all? www.kentcurrent.news/kents-gramma...
kentcurrent.news
Kent’s grammar school system has a £7.2m maths problem
Plus a council stretching from Folkestone to Sheppey, six-hour border queues, Southern Water bosses facing trial and a far-right damp squib in Dover
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Forum Journal @forumjournal.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
👋 Meet the Board: Dr @nualaburgess.bsky.social. Researcher at @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social, specialising in post-16 education, vocational learning and education policy. Chair of @compfuture.bsky.social. 📚 Read why Nuala is part of our board below 👇 4/9 #Forum
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Andy Burnham's technical education plans are welcome — but in selective areas, a pathway at 14 risks formalising a divide that started at 11. Reform-run Kent and Lincolnshire show why this matters. comprehensivefuture.org.uk/burnhams-tec...
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Burnham's Manchester model shows academic and technical subjects sit well side by side. But this only works where children haven't already been divided at 11. In selective areas, won't a vocational push at 14 risk reviving secondary moderns by the back door? #uked www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Schools to offer technical subjects to pupils from age 14, Burnham says
The government wants pupils to take courses like AI and manufacturing which are linked to local jobs.
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Ofsted's new report cards reward grammar schools for 'strong' inclusion. The secondary moderns that admit the pupils grammars reject get the worst judgements. How can this be right? comprehensivefuture.org.uk/why-ofsteds-...
comprehensivefuture.org.uk
Why do Ofsted's new report cards reward grammar schools and punish secondary moderns? – Comprehensive Future
Schools Week recently analysed Ofsted new report cards and found that grammar schools were frequently judged to have a ‘Strong’ standard for ... Read more
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Congratulations to Andy Burnham on becoming PM and Lucy Powell on her appointment as Education Secretary. Both have long records of supporting inclusive comprehensive education and speaking out against school selection. We look forward to making the case for fairer admissions to the new government.
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
When even the Telegraph is raising concerns about grammar schools, it's clear something isn't working. “Doing well in class is no longer enough, you have to have had years of additional coaching to pass.” (paywall) www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/07...
telegraph.co.uk
How the grammar school rat race left the white working class behind
The rise of the 11-plus tutoring industry has reshaped the classroom, with profound consequences for social mobility
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Grammar schools are being rated as having "Strong" inclusion. Schools that exclude most local children and admit tiny proportions of SEND and disadvantaged pupils. We need a serious conversation about what Ofsted means by 'inclusive.' schoolsweek.co.uk/grammar-scho...
schoolsweek.co.uk
Grammar schools are inclusive, says Ofsted
Analysis findings prompt backlash, but heads say they should be judged on what they achieve for their pupils
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Reposted by Comprehensive Future
Jack Deasley @jldeasley.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
My interview with Peter Mandler as a podcast - listen on the bus, tube, etc.!
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Our interview with @petermandler.bsky.social is now available as a podcast. He discusses the history of selection, meritocracy and the 11-plus, and what this can tell us about current debates on selective education. open.spotify.com/episode/4ITJ...
open.spotify.com
CF Conversations #1: Selection, Meritocracy and the 11-Plus – Professor Peter Mandler
CF Conversations · Episode
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
"I feel guilty that we're giving my daughter an advantage because we're paying for tutoring." Parents call grammar school entry a "moral dilemma". When families feel they must pay to avoid their child being disadvantaged, the problem isn't the parents. It's the system. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Parents say grammar test changes won’t end tutoring advantage
Parents in Gloucestershire react to the attempt to make grammar schools 'more accessible'.
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
How transparent is the 11-plus? FOI documents show a major test provider advising schools how to resist requests for admissions testing information. Should details of tests that shape children's futures be hidden as "commercially confidential"? comprehensivefuture.org.uk/released-doc...
comprehensivefuture.org.uk
Released documents reveal attempts to resist 11-plus FOI disclosures – Comprehensive Future
Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act have raised fresh questions about transparency in selective school admissions. The documents show that ... Read more
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Reposted by Comprehensive Future
Jack Deasley @jldeasley.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Enjoyed doing this. This history equips us with the tools to talk about our current education system, even in non-selective areas, about the relationship between schools and social mobility, exam stress, etc.
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
. Historian @petermandler.bsky.social talks about the history of academic selection and what we can learn from the post-war education system. He busts popular myths about grammar schools and social mobility. youtu.be/kfXmDse3yO8?...
youtu.be
Selection, Meritocracy and the 11-plus: A History
YouTube video by Comprehensive Future
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
If grammar schools need to redesign the 11-plus to reduce tutoring and middle-class cramming, they’re admitting the system isn’t measuring ‘ability’ in the first place. The tutoring industry won’t disappear because the test is 6 weeks earlier. www.dailymail.com/news/article...
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
“If selection doesn’t improve social mobility, why are we doing it?” Professor Peter Mandler discusses the history — and consequences — of the 11+ and academic selection in Britain. New interview with Jack Deasley for Comprehensive Future. Watch:https://youtu.be/kfXmDse3yO8
youtu.be
Selection, Meritocracy and the 11-plus: A History
YouTube video by Comprehensive Future
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Grammar schools admit far fewer pupils with SEND than neighbouring non-selective schools. As SEND reform moves centre stage, the role of academic selection is increasingly under scrutiny. A supporter has launched this petition. Please sign and share: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/76...
petition.parliament.uk
Petition: Abolish grammar schools & reallocate funding to SEND & mainstream schools
Require phase out of remaining state-funded selective grammar schools. Reallocate funding to SEND support. Require local authorities to redirect resources from selective testing (11 plus) toward an in...
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Research shows the 11-plus shapes identity, confidence and belonging for decades after children take it. More than 50 years on, women who sat the 11-plus still feel its effects. Selection doesn’t just sort pupils. It stays with them. comprehensivefuture.org.uk/more-than-ha...
comprehensivefuture.org.uk
More than half a century on, women who sat the 11-plus still feel its effects – Comprehensive Future
A recent study by Amanda Lavelle of the University of Essex, uses interviews to explore how “passing” or “failing” the 11-plus still ... Read more
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
Moving the 11-plus and aligning it with the curriculum sounds fairer… But as one tutor puts it, "Tutoring will adapt rather than disappear.” There is no such thing as a tutor proof test. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Gloucestershire grammar schools to adopt new 'accessible' test
Testing will happen before the summer holidays to help families who cannot access private tutoring.
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
“Nobody is getting in off the back of picking up half a dozen practice papers from WH Smith in the summer of year 5." When entry depends on years of paid prep, the system is surely flawed beyond fixing. inews.co.uk/inews-lifest...
inews.co.uk
Our Essex grammar school is full of rich kids – pushy parents are gaming the system
One of the best state schools in the country is under pressure – amid mounting concerns that tutored, privileged children are winning too many places
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
The SEND white paper promises every child will achieve and thrive. But it assumes all schools admit a representative intake. In grammar school areas, they don't — by design. comprehensivefuture.org.uk/every-child-...
comprehensivefuture.org.uk
Every Child Achieving and Thriving? Inclusion starts at the school gate – Comprehensive Future
The government’s new SEND white paper makes a promise that is hard to argue with: every child, including those with special educational ... Read more
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Where any admissions criteria limit access for local or disadvantaged children, it’s right to ask whether the system is fair. State-funded schools should be inclusive and accessible to all. comprehensivefuture.org.uk/public-conce...
comprehensivefuture.org.uk
Public concern grows over fairness in school admissions – Comprehensive Future
New research from the National Secular Society, based on polling by More in Common, highlights public concern about how some state-funded schools ... Read more
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
If the “best” schools take fewer SEND pupils, are they really the best? New research shows 'top' schools admit far fewer disadvantaged SEND pupils than their local areas. That’s not excellence. That’s selection. #FairAdmissions www.theguardian.com/education/20...
theguardian.com
Top English schools take in half as many Send pupils as average comprehensive
School leaders believe some deploy a deliberate strategy to boost grades and improve finances, new research suggests
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
The NPP Fairer Schools Index confirms what we already knew: grammar schools’ “top” rankings are often just a reflection of their selective intake, NOT better teaching. When you adjust for pupil background, their scores drop significantly. #uked www.northernpowerhousepartnership.co.uk/northern-pow...
northernpowerhousepartnership.co.uk
Northern Powerhouse Launches Third Edition of Fairer Schools Index - Northern Powerhouse Partnership
The Northern Powerhouse Partnership (NPP) has today launched its third edition of the Fairer Schools Index, providing a vital, contextually adjusted alternative to the government’s Progress 8 measure ...
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Reform UK is reportedly considering lifting the ban on new grammar schools. But England already has selective areas, the evidence shows this system of education doesn't work. Expanding selection would be a step backwards. #ednews #edpolicy #ukedchat comprehensivefuture.org.uk/reform-signa...
comprehensivefuture.org.uk
Reform signals return of new grammar schools – Comprehensive Future
The i newspaper reports that Reform UK is considering lifting the ban on new grammar schools if Nigel Farage becomes Prime Minister. ... Read more
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Reposted by Comprehensive Future
Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
That's a good point. By bringing back Grammar Schools, you also bring back Not Grammar Schools.
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James Bloodworth @jamesbloodworth.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
With Reform UK calling for the return of grammar schools, I’ve shared an excerpt from my first book The Myth of Meritocracy examining the evidence on who actually benefits from selection. Clue: it isn’t working-class pupils. www.forthedeskdrawer.com/p/the-enduri...
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
The idea of “bringing back grammar schools” is pure nostalgia politics. Modern education systems focus on raising standards for all children, not selecting a minority and leaving the rest behind. www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
dailymail.co.uk
Reform government could back new wave of grammar schools
Reform, which has made former Tory minister Suella Braverman its new education spokeswoman, could allow them to be set up via the free school system.
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
It's being reported that Reform UK plan to create new grammar schools if they come into power. Such a bad move! Do parents really want to see more primary school children sitting the 11-plus? 🙁 inews.co.uk/news/politic...
inews.co.uk
New grammar schools set to return if Farage becomes PM
The creation of new selective schools was outlawed by New Labour in 1998
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Councillors admit they have “no powers” to influence grammar school admissions following a call to boost the number of local children securing spots. 🫤 www.echo-news.co.uk/news/2590299...
echo-news.co.uk
Council has 'no powers' to influence admissions at Southend's grammar schools
COUNCILLORS have admitted they have “no powers” to influence grammar school admissions after calls to boost the number of local children…
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
What is Reform UK's policy on grammar schools? So far the party has been quiet on this issue, but are there hints they plan to expand selection? comprehensivefuture.org.uk/reform-uk-an...
comprehensivefuture.org.uk
Reform UK and academic selection: Reading the signals – Comprehensive Future
On 17 February 2026, Nigel Farage announced Reform UK’s new “shadow cabinet,” appointing Suella Braverman as spokesperson for Education, Skills and Equalities. ... Read more
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Comprehensive Future @compfuture.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
It's ridiculous that grammar schools are treated as equals to all other schools in league tables. “This comparison is too crude to help school leaders or parents. Schools with lower pupil attainment on entry will be judged unfairly.” schoolsweek.co.uk/grammars-shi...
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