Future of Grammar schools due to changed admissions

[ForwardThinker4]

If we were to look into a crystal ball and fast forward 10 years, how do you think the new admissions criteria will have affected the local grammar schools? Will Camp Hill still remain the most competitive to get into? Will the Handsworth schools have a high intake from the prep schools in Edgbaston thus making them the more competitive? Will overall standards drop? Will the schools not be affected at all? Will the King Edward independent schools see a higher number of applicants? Will the grammar schools outside of King Edward e.g Queen Mary’s be the top performing in the region as they take in the highest performing rather than those from a catchment? I welcome your thoughts.

[DMC1]

its not that long ago that a score of 220 would have got you into Camp Hill Girls, Five Ways etc - no-one thought they had poor standards in those days

its only in the days of increasing birth rates and intensive tutoring we've had this score inflation to where we are now

it'll mean a different cohort of pupils get into the schools - from a lot closer, and the opportunities for those from distance and outside Birmingham will have been taken away, that may influence things at the private schools for example

but standards will remain high as they were in the days when a score of 220 would guarantee entry

[Trident]

I predict a hike in the number of applications for private schools, making places more competitive. I also think those schools without a catchment area like QM and the Sutton grammars will see an increase in cut offs (I think).

[OldTrout]

Really interesting question ForwardThinker4

No idea what that answer might be - partly because there is absolutely no officially published information about the make-up of individual years at Camp Hill Girls (where my daughter is) and I suspect that's the same for other KE VI Grammars (including Bishop Vesey/ Sutton Coldfield Girls). A heat map of where current pupils come from would be very interesting - but clearly is never going to happen.

What will be interesting is whether there will be such huge numbers visiting schools and taking the 11+? I have found the numbers of people at Open Days or 11+ Examination days absolutely crazy both from the stance of a prospective parent and a parent of a girl taking pupils around Camp Hill Girls. From the perspective of these schools - that must take up a huge amount of organisation & time; I'm impressed with how well they have managed these events when we attended. Certainly, nothing like those numbers at Open Days at our local non-selective secondary.

What I do know is that locals really hate the parents parking along their roads to collect kids after school around the grammar schools (although this is probably the case for any school). I hope serving a more local catchment might mean less traffic/ parked cars around these schools in future.

[mike1880]

I would have thought the schools would develop a much more local, community-based character, more along the lines grammar schools used to be when there were more of them.

It's worth bearing in mind that the Foundation now has two non-selective schools; one possible end point of the Foundation's current trajectory is that the grammar schools eventually cease to be selective at all and simply take from a local catchment.