Grammar schools do not help children achieve academic success, study claims

Grammar schools do not help children achieve academic success, a UCL study has claimed.

Researchers also said attending a grammar school had no positive impact on a teenager's self-esteem or their aspirations for the future.

The study, by the UCL Institute of Education, comes weeks after the Government announced plans to pump £50 million into creating more places at grammar schools.

"Against the conventional wisdom, we find little evidence that gaining entry into a grammar school has a positive impact upon most aspects of young people’s lives," the study concludes. 

"This leads us to an important conclusion: gaining entry into a grammar school may actually not be as important as many assume."

Professor John Jerrim, lead author of the study, said: "Our findings suggest that the money the Government is planning to spend on grammar school expansion is unlikely to bring benefits for young people.

"Even those children who are likely to fill these new places are unlikely to be happier, more engaged at school or have higher levels of academic achievement by the end of Year 9."

Co-author Sam Sims added: "Schools across the country are already hard-pressed financially. Our research suggests that the Government would be better off directing their money towards areas of existing need, rather than expanding grammar schools."

Researchers analysed data from 883 children in England and 733 children in Northern Ireland who had similar academic achievements at primary school and came from families with similar incomes and education levels.

They looked at the results of tests taken in English, mathematics, verbal and non-verbal reasoning at the ages of three, five, seven and 11, as well as a vocabulary test at the age of 14, and compared results from those who went on to attend a grammar school and those who did not.

Children were also given a series of questionnaires at the ages of 11 and 14 to gauge their thoughts on mental health, engagement at school, well-being and interaction with peers.

Josh Hillman, director of education at the Nuffield Foundation, which funded the study, said: "These findings are important because they show for the first time the impact of attending grammar schools on a wide range of outcomes, such as young people's self-confidence, academic self-esteem and aspirations for the future.

"The evidence shows that at age 14, there is no benefit to young people of attending grammar school in these respects.

"In addition, we know from previous evidence from this study that the use of private tutoring heavily skews access to grammar schools in favour of wealthier families, dispelling the myth that they increase social mobility.

"In light of this evidence, it is increasingly difficult to understand the government's rationale for spending money on expanding selective education rather than on improving education for all young people."

A Department for Education spokeswoman said: "We know selective schools provide an excellent education – in fact research shows that pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds achieve better results in selective schools, and 98 per cent of them are rated Good or Outstanding.

"We also know these schools are oversubscribed, with parents wanting their children to be able to access this form of education.

“We want more children from all backgrounds to have access to a world-class education, which is why all selective schools applying for funding to expand must not only be Good or Outstanding, but must also make clear how they will increase their intake of disadvantaged pupils and work with local non-selective schools to improve outcomes for pupils of all backgrounds.”