Fairer Schools: Three Asks for Andy Burnham

Fairer Schools: Three Asks for Andy Burnham

Three practical reforms to make school admissions fairer and move England closer to a truly comprehensive education system.

How can the government begin to tackle unfairness in school admissions? Join Comprehensive Future for a panel discussion exploring three practical changes that would help address the barriers children face in a selective system.

We’re calling on the government to:

• End academic selection in partially selective schools. Schools should not select pupils through an 11-plus test while describing themselves as 'comprehensive'.
• Commission an independent review of the 11-plus and children’s wellbeing. Put children’s experiences at the heart of an independent examination of the pressures and consequences of selection at age 10 or 11.
• Collect and publish information about who takes and passes the 11-plus. Linking test records with the National Pupil Database would expose inequalities in access to grammar schools and help identify the barriers different groups of pupils face.

These reforms are practical steps towards our wider goal of a truly comprehensive education system. Our commitment to ending academic selection remains unchanged.

Our speakers

Karen Wespieser will discuss partially selective schools and the case for ending academic selection in their admissions.

Fiona Lakin, an educational psychologist and doctoral researcher at the University of Manchester, will explore the impact of the 11-plus on children’s wellbeing, drawing on her research into stakeholders’ experiences of academic selection at ages 10–11.

Professor Lindsey Macmillan is Professor of Economics at UCL and Director of the Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities (CEPEO). She will discuss the case for better data on who takes and passes the 11-plus.

The panel event will accompany Comprehensive Future’s AGM. Supporters and anyone interested in fairer school admissions are warmly welcome.

PLEASE NOTE: Instructions on accessing the Palace of Westminster will be emailed ahead of the event.