Grammar schools in England: a new approach to analysing their intakes and outcomes

Using data from the National Pupil Database in England over the last 11 years, this research paper assesses the impact of selective schooling in England. The paper was written at a time when the UK government was considering increasing the number of pupils attending state-funded selective grammar schools, claiming that this will assist overall standards, reduce the poverty attainment gap and aid social mobility.

Using the full 2015 cohort of pupils in England, the researchers demonstrate how stratified pupil attending grammar schools actually are against their non-grammar peers in terms of poverty, ethnicity, language, special educational needs, and even their age in year. They suggest this stratification is worse than previously estimated. They also shows that attainment results from grammar schools are no better than expected, once these differences are taken into account.

The researchers conclude that there is no evidence base for a policy of increasing selection, and suggest that the UK government should instead consider phasing out existing selective schools.