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DfE won’t create more selection, grammar heads predict

DfE won’t create more selection, grammar heads predict

‘Too much aggravation’ for the government to open more selective schools, says key figure in grammar schools movement

24th January 2020, 6:06pm

Mark Fenton, Chief Executive Of The Grammar School Heads Association

The number of grammar schools is not set to increase because the government “doesn’t think it’s worth the aggravation”.

That’s according to the chief executive of the Grammar School Heads Association, Mark Fenton, who represents the nation’s 163 grammar school headteachers.

More grammar schools?

In an exclusive interview with Tes, Dr Fenton says that the government is supportive of grammar schools, but adds: “There’s a very different view among parents and the general public to what there is in the educational establishment.

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“I suppose if you’re the government, where do your priorities lie and how many vested interests do you take on at any one time? Somebody must have made a calculation that the benefits aren’t worth the level of aggravation.”

Read the full interview with Dr Fenton here.