Grammer schools have overwhelmingly worked for the benefit of the middle class,yet are paid for by everyone.That sucks,as my comprehensive headmaster used to say.Sadly our educational history has shown that those parents with more knowledge of the schools system,and more money, will socially engineer an advantage for their kids.Somehow in our class ridden society,we need to promote an equality of opportunity.The alternative is that many bright working class kids will never acheive their potential..and society loses out on utilising their talent.A tiny number of such kids did benefit from grammers (though these were more likely to be kids of the relatively better off,skilled manual workers,rather than the unskilled).Overall grammers leave the vast majority receiving a lower standard of education.Parental position,status etc is most likely reproduced with the aid of any elitist school system.Such educational advantage(including that gained from those "charitable"institutions called public schools),results in some less able,but highly trained, middle class kids acheiving higher status jobs,by dint of schooling,rather than ability.This mismatch can be seen right up to the top of our society,to the real decision makers,some of whom are not up to the job. Perhaps more middle class parents should accept that their kids aren't academic.Society also needs to value manual work more highly,but not see it as purely a path for working class kids to follow.

This is typical of today's democracy in this country. You elect a leader who then goes off and decides at a stroke this is what the party is going to do, no discussion, no consultation, and you wonder why people dont bother voting any more. Cameron,this could be your Iraq, I suggest you listen to the people and your party before its to late.

Cameron is a Labour mole! It,s the only thing that makes sense.
Blue gorilla,would you have all the teams in the Premiership to finish with the same number of points? I think that all children are good at something,whether it be a top doctor or a top bin man(can I say that?). It should be up to both parents and teachers to determine what that something is. The secondry school system should be geared up to cater for all;send academics to academic schools, scientists to scientific schools and vocational pupils to vocational schools. There should be no snobbery. What price a bin man if you can't get one? Grammar schools do work. I went to one and I was not from a well off family. I got there on merit via the 11 plus and my parents struggled to afford my uniform etc. Grammars do work;far better than the mess they have now.

Dave,I might want to make it more of a level playing field in the premiership,it's got boring.Chelsea and Man U are the upper classes,using cash to get to the top and stay there.As for you going to a grammer school,I am sure it did help you..I just think that we have to take a global picture of this,and look at what it does to/for society overall.There are always individual stories that go against the general picture,and exceptions to the rule.I do have some agreement with your view re encouraging different aptitudes.The problem is,that most of the middle classes, would not be happy to see their kid/s go on to pursue manual careers..They always socially engineer the system so that their kids win out..whether it's the family moving house to be near a top rated school,top-up private tuition etc.Our society is sadly, geared up so that their are winners and losers..and survey after survey shows that in reality our education system plays a huge part in ensuring that class is replicated across generations,and matters far more than talent in shaping what social position a child will later occupy.That occurs even without grammer schools,but is made much worse where grammer schools exist.Of course attitudes to education,family culture,role models etc,are also significant.But grammers make a social wrong even worse.As a tax payer from a (skilled)manual background,I would not be happy to see my taxes support a grammer system which was set up to preserve the status quo.Form the school system around the idea of developing each kid's ability and talents(academic ,artistic,crafts,etc) to the full,lets have true equality of opportunity (very different from "one size fits all").It is the fairest way...but you know that no Daily Mail reader would be happy with fairness.

Blue Gorilla,

You are right and wrong.

Grammar schools certainly have not benefited the majority of children and that is possibly because there were never enough of them. Once the direct grants were removed (in the seventies) they became less accessible to a number of families and it is only thanks to old boys bursary funds that the "clever poor" stand a chance of attending.

In my experience a number of youngsters attended grammar schools because their parents made sacrifices. They were the last ones to buy colour televisions.

They took a look around and decided that the local grammar school was their childs best option. This is as much a fault of the comprehensive education system and its failings.

There are a number of good comprehensive schools and if you take a look round most major cities in this country you will notice that the most expensive housing falls within the catchment area of good comprehensive schools. Whilst this remains the case there will always be a need for grammar schools because of the mediocrity of inner city comps.

Until such time as the ministry of education is able to guarantee an equal education for all, and all parents are fully involved in their childrens education there remains a need for grammar schools because they are the only avenue available for thousands of families with serious ambitions for their children.

Grammar schools only exist and are only needed because of other institutions failings.

David Cameron needs to be careful. He cannot back down on Grammar School policy until the rest of the system has been sorted out.

IMHO

Trafford is Conservative controlled and still has grammar school. People move to Trafford because of the grammar schools.
Comprehensive education does not work and holds back the brightest in order to educate the less bright.
Why should everyone suffer to accomodate those who dont want to learn?
Cameron will lose any chance of winning the next election if they persist with this policy

I went to a grammar scholl, from a single parent working class family in Benchill. I got there on merit also after passing my 11+. My classmates who were stuck in Benchill, are now either deadm in prison or have no future.
Why should I have been forced to suffer the same fate

I emailed David Cameron's office today and got a quick and informed reply.

Here is the link to his statement

www.conservatives.com/tile.do?def=news.show.article.page&obj_id=1
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