The Conservative Party congregated in Birmingham this week with the shadow (or perhaps, to some delegates, the bright sunbeam) of grammar schools looming large over the conference arena.

So often a sideshow at the Tories’ annual conference, education - alongside Brexit - was the talk of the town this year, thanks to Prime Minister Theresa May’s recent pronouncements on the policy.

But while the opening of new grammar schools dominated much of the discussion about schools and education, the Conservatives’ get-together showed that the rank and file do occasionally have other concerns.

Divide and rule

Had it not been for an internal briefing document being snapped by an eagle-eyed photographer last month, the grammar schools policy would have been Ms May’s great offering to the Tory faithful this week.

The fact that the issue was forced out earlier meant that delegates had time before the conference to reflect on the plans that could lead to the biggest shake-up of the education system for 50 years.

And it was the measured response to the plans that was striking this week. Delegates attending fringe meetings spoke of the need to push high-attaining pupils, but they had concerns about the impact that more selection would have on the least able.

The push to increase the number of grammar schools has, no doubt, been very warmly welcomed by traditional Conservatives - those busy snapping up the “Little Iron Lady” babygros for their grandchildren.

But a substantial number of Tory party members subscribe to the modernising policies put in place by David Cameron and fear that more selection will undo his education reforms.

A substantial number of Tory members subscribe to modernising policies

As Steve Mastin, chair of the Conservative Education Society, said at one event, the grammar school proposals had only succeeded in “uniting Labour and dividing the Conservative Party”.

“Cold spots” are a hot topic

In education secretary Justine Greening’s speech on Tuesday, she announced a boost of £60 million to help improve schools in so-called “social mobility cold spots”.

The plan, which will support schools in 10 different “opportunity areas”, was largely welcomed - but there was caution from some that it is likely to become intertwined with plans to bring grammars to the poorest areas.

And educational historians might sound a note of caution, too: the “cold spots” sound remarkably like Tony Blair’s “education action zones” - a well-documented failure in school improvement. Greyer-haired educationalists may also remember Labour’s “educational priority areas” of the 1960s.

Teacher supply solutions

One area the new education secretary is understood to be eager to address is teacher recruitment and retention.

Sources close to Ms Greening say she is aware that it will take more than “bursaries and a good advert” to tackle the growing problem of teacher shortages.

And while grammar schools have hogged the spotlight for the past few months, heads’ and teachers’ leaders are keen to capitalise on the heightened focus on education and shout about what they see as more pressing concerns for the sector.

According to one senior union source spotted among the gathered Tories, there is now a glimmer of optimism, because Ms Greening seems aware that teacher supply needs addressing and that School Direct, in particular, needs to be reviewed.

“From the conversations we’ve had, we get a sense that Justine Greening is listening, particularly in that teacher supply is worsening, and that the school training route has been a bit chaotic,” the source said.

Politicians in a pickle

The education secretary has been keen to stress that the grammar school debate will not distract her from her main priorities, but the proposals are proving more than distracting for her Conservative colleagues.

Nicky Morgan, Ms Greening’s predecessor at the Department for Education, has quickly become one of the most high-profile critics of the policy.

But the backbencher found herself in a bit of pickle when she was asked by a journalist why, given that she was so opposed to the grammar school policy, she had approved the expansion of the Weald of Kent Grammar in Sevenoaks.

“We had said in our manifesto that we wanted all good schools to be able to expand, therefore we have to be consistent,” she said. “They had a specific application, they had an expansion [plan] and I approved it on that basis.”

But allowing the expansion of good school places is exactly what Ms May’s government says it is intending to do.

There’s optimism that Ms Greening is aware that teacher supply needs addressing

Ms Morgan’s former junior minister, Nick Gibb, now minister for school standards, was not having much better luck explaining his position on grammars.

Mr Gibb told delegates that he was “absolutely passionate” about the need for all children to be taught an academic curriculum “regardless of their background”. But a “widespread resistance” to the English Baccalaureate, particularly in the country’s most deprived areas, meant that it was necessary for grammar schools to be introduced, he said.

“[The grammar schools plan] is a catalyst,” Mr Gibb added. “It’s about challenge and particularly in those areas that have resisted a proper education for those children from poorer families.”

A new teachers’ champion?

When Neil Carmichael was named as chair of the Commons education select committee, his appointment was greeted with a unanimous: “Who?”

But since taking up the role, the MP for Stroud has become an unlikely champion for teachers and the wider education system.

He has held ministers to account over the push for mass academisation, and has echoed most of the teaching unions by warning that grammar schools would focus “just on the few”. And he found himself on the unions’ side once again when he rejected Amanda Spielman as the government’s choice for Ofsted’s next chief inspector.

At the Conservative conference, he called for a new baccalaureate at post-16 that would give equal parity to both academic and vocational qualifications. And he said that there needed to be better resources for schools in areas that struggle to recruit teachers outside of London.

And finally...

While former education secretary Michael Gove steered well clear of the conference - following his ignominious Tory leadership bid - Nicky Morgan made her presence felt.

At fringe events, the former Cabinet member was more outspoken than at any point during her stint on the frontbench - and she had in her sights the return of grammar schools. It appears that the sternest opposition to more selective education is coming from the previous Conservative education secretary.

@RichardVaughan1