We want the remnants of the discredited secondary school system which dates back to the 1940s to be swept away. Nowhere in England should young children be divided on the basis of some ill-conceived perception of intelligence. The 11+ should be abolished and every child should have the right to attend a comprehensive school.
Michael Rosen
People sometimes say that they were working class and it was the grammar school that saved them. This claim rests on the assumption that if they hadn’t gone to grammar school, they would have failed. No statistic I’ve seen would back that claim... The claim ignores the fact that hundreds of thousands of working-class children have succeeded at comprehensive schools. The past 30 years have seen, for example, a whole new generation of people who are the first in their family to gain qualifications, to go into the sixth form or to go to university – thanks to comprehensive schools.
Francesca McCarthy
The pupils within this system who fail the 11+ are the voices that rarely get heard. Yet they are the experts in this area, this is their everyday life - so if we want to move forward we need to listen to those young people and accept this system is not problem free.
Joanna Vaughan
I had two children go to grammar schools and I think the expectation is that they are offering this fantastic education..And I think the reality is very, very different. I think a lot of the education is not particularly inspiring. I think a lot of it is all about tests.
Caroline Derbyshire
I think it is ridiculous to give children a test at the age of 11...We know that children mature at different stages, we know that they continue to improve, and that the sky's the limit if their teachers believe in them, and that system goes against everything we believe in in education.
Jack Deasley
I failed the 11+, I went on to get three A*s at A-level and now I am studying at Cambridge University. I strongly disagree that the 11+ assesses academic ability correctly.
Sir Michael Wilshaw
Grammar schools are stuffed full of middle-class kids. A tiny percentage are on free school meals: 3%. That is a nonsense. Anyone who thinks grammar schools are going to increase social mobility needs to look at those figures. I don't think they work.