The argument against grammar schools is that they perpetuate privilege. The middle classes – the upper middle classes even – use them to give their children a leg up in life. This cannot be stood for, equality is all.
Yet now we’ve proof perfect that we can and should just leave the grammar schools alone:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] Grammar school does not make you healthier or wealthier in later life, research has found. The in-depth analysis of people who went to selective schools in the 1970s concluded that the only advantage was a higher likelihood of achieving A levels and a degree, but now that those are taken by teenagers from a range of backgrounds, even this may disappear. Wages, employment and quality of physical and mental health up to the age of 55 were not directly affected by whether a person had gone to a grammar or comprehensive school, according to the report. [/perfectpullquote]There is no such privilege conferred. Thus there is no argument against grammars. After all, if the people – you know, the people who pay for it all through their taxes – desire this form of education and there is no unfairness or privilege being conferred then why shouldn’t they have what they want?
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A corollary to the argument put forward, should we accept it, is that possession of A levels and a degree confer no advantages in later life.
Time to restore the school leaving age to 16 and remove all subsidies to university then