Grammar school 'would be a waste'

Howard Sykes

OLDHAM is in line to get one of the country's first super-selective grammar schools, a leading councillor believes.

Councillor Howard Sykes fears such a school would only be open to 10 per cent of the borough's children and a waste of resources much-needed elsewhere.

Councillors Sykes, leader of the council's Liberal Democrats, says reports of a meeting between the secretary of state and the Grammar School Heads Association suggest that Oldham, as a recently announced Opportunity Area, is a proposed location for the new grammars.

"How does this proposal help the vast majority of Oldham children?" he said. "Even existing grammar schools typically take the top-performing 25 per cent of children. By excluding nine in ten children from entry, the government is failing to improve the educational experience and life chances of pupils who do not come from privileged backgrounds."

Desperate

He added "Every child in the borough should have the right to expect a well-funded school place in a quality school, not just the few.

"Many of the children from my own ward go to Royton and Crompton School, a school that is physically falling apart and in desperate need of replacement. This is just one example of where the money should go - not on the latest Conservative 'here today, gone tomorrow' education fad.

"We have seen recently how money on such fads is frequently wasted with the total failure of the Greater Manchester University Technical College that has cost the taxpayer millions."

Cllr Sykes has written to Nick Gibbs, minister for school standards, asking him to abandon the idea and to instead invest in Oldham's comprehensive schools.

Oldham is one of the Government's first six Opportunity Areas, a £60m scheme to promote social mobility by supporting schools and links with employers.