Education Secretary 'open minded' about new grammar schools

New Education Secretary Justine Greening has said that the government should be ‘open minded’ about the opening of new grammar schools in England.

Under a law created by the Labour Government in 1998, new grammar schools, which select pupils based on an examination at age 11, are not allowed to be opened in England.

The Labour Party opposes the opening of new Grammar Schools, arguing that they increase inequality, and Weald of Kent grammar school in Tunbridge made headlines when it was approved to open a new ‘annexe’ accommodating 450 places in late 2015.

It was dubbed as the first new grammar school in around 50 years and described by Labour as a ‘hugely backward step’. Many believed the approval could open the flood gates for the opening of new grammar schools, but the government maintained that it was an ‘extension’ of an existing school and not a new school.

Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, the subject of grammar schools was raised with Greening, who did not completely dismiss the idea.

The new Education Secretary emphasised that the education landscape had changed ‘dramatically’ over the last few years and that the government should be ‘prepared to be open-minded’.

She added: “I think that the education debate on grammar schools has been going for a very long time, but I also recognise that the landscape in which it takes place has changed fundamentally.

"I think we need to be able to move this debate on and look at things as they are today, and maybe step away from a more old-fashioned debate around grammar schools and work out where they fit in today's landscape."

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