The abolition of grammar schools in most parts of the country has stopped thousands of children “getting on” in life, according to Kirstie Allsopp. This is from the Telegraph…
Academically selective schools are necessary because pupils of different abilities cannot be educated “in the same environment”, the television presenter has warned.
In an interview, she said that comprehensive schools were “wrong” and had consigned large numbers of children to educational failure.
The comments were made after a report from Ofsted last month claimed that many comprehensives were letting down bright children by staging mixed-ability lessons, setting mediocre homework tasks and refusing to push pupils towards top universities.
More than 65,000 of England’s most able schoolchildren are falling far short of their potential after being taught in mixed-ability schools, the watchdog warned.
Speaking to the Radio Times, Miss Allsopp, the presenter of Location, Location, Location, insisted that bright children were better served by grammar schools.
“I feel passionately that the comprehensive ethos is wrong, and that you cannot educate all children together in the same environment in the same way because they are so varied,” she said.
Grammar schools were largely phased out in the 60s and 70s, with only 164 remaining in England. Labour introduced new legislation in the late 90s banning the opening of any more.
But the schools remain hugely popular with parents, with some of the most sought-after institutions receiving as many as 10 applications for each place.
More at: Kirstie Allsopp criticises ‘failing’ comprehensive schools
Your thoughts on @KirstieMAllsopp‘s comments? Three questions: One – are bright children better served by grammar schools? Two – if so, are the consequences for those who don’t make it worth it? And three, are there better alternatives?
