Grammar school headteachers will make a formal commitment to trying to increase the number of disadvantaged children they admit, schools minister Nick Gibb has suggested.

In a response to the Commons Education Select Committee’s report on grammar schools, he said selective school heads will commit to improving their admissions of poorer pupils in a “formal agreement”. 

One of the recommendations from the committee of MPs in February was to ensure that tests were not the only basis on which admissions to grammar schools were decided.

In the government’s response, Mr Gibb wrote: “The Grammar School Heads’ Association (GSHA) has been clear that their members are committed to improving admission rates for disadvantaged pupils, and it is important this commitment is now delivered by selective schools.

“I welcome the fact that the GSHA will codify this commitment in a formal agreement with the Department for Education.”

Earlier this year, Tes exclusively revealed that more than a third of the existing grammar schools in England were set to change their admissions procedures next year to take more children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

‘Representative of their communities’

It followed the government’s unveiling of proposals that would require existing selective schools to become “representative of their local communities” in light of plans to lift the ban on new selective schools. 

In the government’s response to the select committee’s report, Mr Gibb added: “It is striking that, in response to our challenge, more selective schools have voluntarily taken steps to change their arrangements to prioritise admissions of disadvantaged children.

“The government does, however, expect to see clear steps by other selective schools towards reducing the impact of tutoring for tests, greater consistency in terms of what is tested, as well as making mock tests and familiarisation programmes available free of charge for all pupils, particularly those from and disadvantaged backgrounds.”

The GSHA has been contacted for comment.

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