May’s grammar school plan provokes fury among MPs

Theresa May was accused last night of putting ideology ahead of improving standards after Downing Street confirmed that the government was considering new grammar schools.

The Conservative chairman of the education select committee said that efforts to re-establish grammar schools would be a “distraction” from improving the quality of education for all.

Senior backbenchers predicted that Mrs May would struggle to get her plan through the Commons against opposition from critics on her own side.

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Research by the Sutton Trust also in 2014, showed that only 2.7 per cent of grammar school places went to children who received free schools meals, compared with 16 per cent across all secondary schools.

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