Four key facts about grammar schools – in charts

Theresa May, Britain’s prime minister, announced on Friday the expansions of grammar schools.

Currently there are just 163 grammar schools in England and Wales totalling 167,000 pupils, or 5 per cent of all state secondary pupils.Back in the 1960s there were nearly 1,300 schools and around one quarter of all state secondary pupils attended them.

Most of the drop happened in the 1970s when Margaret Thatcher – then education secretary – approved the closure of most grammar schools.

The South East has the highest proportion of children attending grammar schools – 12 per cent, according to a report by the House of Commons Library, while there are no grammar schools in the North East. The region accounts for 36 per cent of all grammar school students, with the vast majority in Kent.

Grammar schools are state-funded secondary schools which select pupils based on their ability and academic achievements. The academic results of grammar school pupils are notoriously much higher than those of pupils based in other mainstream schools.

Although plans to approve a fresh wave grammar schools are being floated on grounds of boosting social mobility, the evidence shows that grammar pupils are actually less likely to come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Various studies have shown that grammar schools have a smaller proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals – a proxy for social deprivation – than other schools.

According to a Sutton Trust report “in local authorities that operate the grammar system, children who are not eligible for free school meals have a much greater chance of attending a grammar school than similarly high achieving children (as measured by their Key Stage 2 test scores) who are eligible for free school meals”.

Other studies have shown that grammar schools have larger proportions of pupils of Asian and Chinese origin, but “grammar schools have lower proportions of Black pupils than other schools”.

Although new or expanding grammars will be required to take a minimum share of pupils from lower income households, many in the educational establishment – such as Ofsted head Sir Michael Wilshaw – have expressed reservations about the plans.