Difference between revisions of "Grammar school" - New World Encyclopedia

From New World Encyclopedia
 
(87 intermediate revisions by 8 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
 +
{{Ebcompleted}}{{Images OK}}{{Approved}}{{copyedited}}{{2Copyedited}}
 
[[Category:Politics and social sciences]]
 
[[Category:Politics and social sciences]]
 
[[Category:Education]]
 
[[Category:Education]]
 
{{Schools}}
 
{{Schools}}
  
−
A '''grammar school''' is a term most often used in the [[United Kingdom]] and [[Australia]] for a secondary school, in which college preparatory subjects, such as Latin and Greek, are emphasized. In the [[United States of America|United States]], grammar school is sometimes used colloquially to refer to an elementary or "middle school", although the term [[Elementary school]] is the official terminology for a school that teaches from [[kindergarten]] to around fifth or sixth grade.
+
A '''grammar school,''' a term most often used in the [[United Kingdom]] and [[Australia]], is a [[secondary school]] in which a traditional academic curriculum is taught in preparation for university. In the past, subjects such as [[Latin]] and [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] were emphasized. Four distinct uses of the word can be noted, the first two referring to ordinary schools set up in the age before compulsory secondary education, and two referring to [[selective school]]s thereafter. Arguably the most well-known grammar schools were those of the [[Tripartite System]] (also known colloquially as the grammar-school system), which existed in England and Wales from the mid-1940s to the late 1960s, and still exists in Northern Ireland. Pupils are admitted at age 12 usually after an examination called the [[Eleven Plus Exam]].
 +
{{toc}}
 +
Grammar schools were established to provide an academic education for the most able irrespective of their social or economic background. While some continue to support the idea of selective education, with the academically gifted (at age eleven) receiving education appropriate for [[tertiary education]] at the [[university]] level while others receive [[vocational education]] or a general education, for many this system is regarded as elitist and socially divisive. Reform of the system in the latter part of the twentieth century, introduced the [[comprehensive school]] for all students and closed the majority of grammar schools. One result paradoxically was a significant decline in [[social mobility]], as it became much rarer for children from a socially deprived background to go to the best universities. The problem is that many people think that a good academic education is better than a good vocational education. What is more important is that children receive an education that can best enable them to fulfill their potential.  
  
 
==History==  
 
==History==  
 +
In [[medieval]] times, the importance of [[Latin]] in [[government]] and [[religion]] meant there was a strong demand to learn the language. Schools were set up to teach the basis of Latin [[grammar]], calling themselves "grammar schools." Pupils were usually educated up to the age of 14, after which they would look to [[university|universities]] and the [[church]] for further study.
  
−
In [[mediaeval]] times, the importance of [[Latin language|Latin]] in government and religion meant there was a strong demand to learn the language. Schools were set up to teach the basis of Latin grammar, calling themselves ‘grammar schools’. The first such schools appeared in [[Anglo-Saxon England|Anglo-Saxon]] times, but the majority of them were founded after the fifteenth century. Significantly, these schools were often separate from the church, unlike [[cathedral school]]s and hence survived the [[Reformation]]. Pupils were usually educated up to the age of 14, after which they would look to universities and the church for further study. Some new schools were founded and other schools which were associated with the church were refounded with the proceeds of the [[dissolution of the monasteries]] by [[Henry VIII]].<ref name="Spens Report">Will Spens (1938): ''[http://www.dg.dial.pipex.com/documents/docs2/spens.shtml Secondary education with special reference to grammar schools and technical high schools]'', HM Stationery Office, London.</ref>
+
Although the term ''scolae grammaticales'' did not enter common usage until the fourteenth century, the earliest schools of this type appeared from the sixth century, for example, the [[King's School, Canterbury]] (founded 597) and the [[King's School, Rochester]] (604). They were attached to cathedrals and monasteries, and taught Latin (the language of the church) to future priests and monks. Other subjects required for religious work might also be taught, including music and verse (for liturgy), astronomy and mathematics (for the church calendar), and law (for administration).
  
−
In the absence of civic authorities, grammar schools were established as acts of charity, either by private benefactors or corporate bodies such as [[guild]]s. Many of these are still commemorated in annual "Founder's Day" services and ceremonies at surviving schools. [[Edward VI of England|Edward VI]] also made an important contribution to grammar schools, founding a series of schools during his reign (see [[King Edward's School]]), and [[James I of England|James I]] founded a series of "Royal Schools" in Ulster, beginning with [[The Royal School, Armagh]]. In spite of these donations, the schools relied on fees paid by the students.
+
With the foundation of the [[ancient universities]] from the late twelfth century, grammar schools became the entry point to an education in the [[liberal arts]], with Latin seen as the foundation of the [[Trivium (education)|trivium]]. The first schools independent of the church, [[Winchester College]] (1382) and [[Eton College]] (1440), were closely tied to the universities, and as boarding schools became national in character.
  
−
Teaching usually took place from dawn to dusk, and focused heavily upon the [[rote learning]] of Latin. In order to encourage fluency, some schoolmasters recommended punishing any pupil who spoke in English. It would be several years before pupils were able to construct a sentence, and they would be in their final years at the school when they began translating passages. By the end of their studies, they would be quite familiar with the great Latin authors, as well as the studies of drama and rhetoric.<ref>{{cite web
+
During the [[English Reformation]] in the sixteenth century, many cathedral schools were closed and replaced by new foundations using the proceeds of the [[dissolution of the monasteries]].
−
| url = http://www.likesnail.org.uk/welcome-es.htm
+
For example, the oldest extant schools in Wales were founded on the sites of former [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] monasteries. [[Edward VI of England|Edward VI]] also made an important contribution to grammar schools, founding a series of schools during his reign (see [[King Edward's School]]), and [[James I of England|James I]] founded a series of "Royal Schools" in Ulster, beginning with [[The Royal School, Armagh]].
−
| title = Educating Shakespeare: School Life in Elizabethan England
 
−
| publisher = The Guild School Association, Stratford-upon-Avon
 
−
| year = 2003
 
−
}}</ref>
 
  
−
Other skills, such as numeracy and handwriting, were neglected, being taught in odd moments or by travelling specialist teachers such as [[scrivener]]s. Little attention was given to other classical languages, such as [[Greek language|Greek]], due in part to a shortage of non-Latin type and of teachers fluent in the language.Later the [[curriculum]] was considerably broadened to include other languages, such as [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Hebrew]], [[English language|English]] and [[European language]]s, as well as the [[natural sciences]], [[mathematics]], [[history]], [[geography]] and other subjects.
+
In the absence of civic authorities, grammar schools were established as acts of [[Charity (practice)|charity]], either by private benefactors or corporate bodies such as [[guild]]s. Many of these are still commemorated in annual "Founder's Day" services and ceremonies at surviving schools.
  
−
===Victorian grammar schools===
+
Teaching usually took place from dawn to dusk, and focused heavily upon the [[rote learning]] of Latin. It would be several years before pupils were able to construct a sentence, and they would be in their final years at the school when they began translating passages. In order to encourage fluency, some schoolmasters recommended punishing any pupil who spoke in English. By the end of their studies, they would be quite familiar with the great Latin authors, as well as the studies of [[drama]] and [[rhetoric]].<ref>The Guild School Association (2003), [http://www.likesnail.org.uk/welcome-es.htm Educating Shakespeare.] Retrieved May 15, 2008.</ref>
−
The revolution in civic government that took place in the late 19th century created a new breed of grammar schools. After the [[Endowed Schools Act 1869]], it became markedly easier to set up a school. At the time, there was a great emphasis on the importance of [[self-improvement]], and parents keen for their children to receive a decent education took a lead in organising the creation of new schools. Many took the title "grammar school" for historical reasons.
 
  
−
Grammar schools thus emerged as one part of the highly varied education system of England, Wales and Northern Ireland before 1944. These newer schools tended to emulate the great [[public schools]], copying their curriculum, ethos and ambitions. Many schools also adopted the idea of entrance exams and scholarship places for poorer students. This meant that they offered able children from poor backgrounds an opportunity to get a good education.<ref name="Spens Report"/>
+
Other skills, such as [[numeracy]] and [[handwriting]], were neglected, being taught in odd moments or by traveling specialist teachers such as [[scrivener]]s. Little attention was given to other classical languages, such as [[Ancient Greek|Greek]], due to a shortage of non-Latin type and of teachers fluent in the language.
−
+
[[Image:Kegschelmsford.jpg|thumb|left|250 px|King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford.]]
−
===Grammar schools in the Tripartite System===
 
−
{{main|Tripartite System}}
 
−
{{see also|Debates on the grammar school}}
 
  
−
The 1944 [[Education Act 1944|Butler Education Act]] created the first nationwide system of secondary education in England and Wales, echoed by the [[Education (Northern Ireland) Act 1947]]. Three types of schools were planned, one of which was the grammar school. Intended to teach an academic curriculum to intellectually able children who did well in their [[eleven plus]] examination, the grammar school soon established itself as the best tier in the [[Tripartite System]].
+
In England, pressure from the urban middle class for a commercial curriculum was often supported by the school's trustees (who would charge the new students fees) but resisted by the schoolmaster, supported by the terms of the original endowment. A few schools managed to obtain special Acts of Parliament to change their statutes, such as the [[The King's School, Macclesfield|Macclesfield Grammar School]] Act 1774 and the [[Bolton School|Bolton Grammar School]] Act 1788, but most could not. Such a dispute between the trustees and master of [[Leeds Grammar School]] led to a celebrated case in the [[Court of Chancery]]. After 10 years, [[John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon|Lord Eldon]], then [[Lord Chancellor]], ruled in 1805, "There is no authority for thus changing the nature of the Charity, and filling a School intended for the purpose of teaching Greek and Latin with Scholars learning the German and French languages, mathematics, and anything except Greek and Latin."<ref>J.H.D. Matthews, ''The Register of Leeds Grammar School 1820-1896'' (Leeds: Laycock and Sons, 1897).</ref>
  
−
Two types of grammar school existed under the system. Most were either newly created or built since the Victorian period. They emulated the older grammar schools and sought to replicate the studious, aspirational atmosphere found in such establishments.
+
During the [[Scottish Reformation]], schools such as the [[High School of Glasgow|Choir School of Glasgow Cathedral]] (founded 1124) and the [[Royal High School (Edinburgh)|Grammar School of the Church of Edinburgh]] (1128) passed from the control of the church to [[burgh]] councils, and the burghs also founded new schools.
  
−
In addition to those run fully by the state, there were 179 '''Direct Grant Grammar Schools'''. These took between one quarter and one half of their pupils from the state system, and the rest from fee-paying parents. They also exercised far greater freedom from local authorities, and were members of the [[Headmasters Conference|Headmasters' Conference]]. These schools included some very old schools, encouraged to partake in the Tripartite System, and achieved the best academic results of any state schools. The most famous example of a Direct Grant Grammar was [[Manchester Grammar School]], whose headmaster, Lord James of Rusholme, was one of the most outspoken advocates of the Tripartite System.
+
In Scotland, the burgh councils were able to update the curricula of existing schools. As a result, Scotland no longer has grammar schools in any of the senses discussed here, though some, such as [[Aberdeen Grammar School]], retain the name.<ref>T. G. K. Bryce and Walter M. Humes (eds.), ''Scottish Education: Post-Devolution'' (Edinburgh University Press, 2003, ISBN 0748609806).</ref>
  
−
Grammar school pupils were given the best opportunities of any schoolchildren. Initially they studied for the [[School Certificate (UK)|School Certificate]] and [[Higher School Certificate (UK)|Higher School Certificate]], replaced in 1951 by [[General Certificate of Education]] examinations at [[Ordinary Level|O-level]] (Ordinary level) and [[Advanced Level (UK)|A-level]] (Advanced level). In contrast, very few students at [[secondary modern school]]s took public examinations until the introduction of the less academic [[Certificate of Secondary Education]] (known as the CSE) in the 1960s.<ref>''[http://www.qca.org.uk/qca_6210.aspx The story of the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE)]'', [[Qualifications and Curriculum Authority]].</ref> Grammar schools possessed better facilities and received more funding than their secondary modern counterparts. Until the implementation of the [[Robbins Report]] in the 1960s, children from public and grammar schools effectively monopolised access to university. These schools were also the only ones that offered an extra term of school to prepare pupils for the competitive entrance exams for [[Oxbridge]].
+
===Victorian grammar schools===
 +
The revolution in civic government that took place in the late nineteenth century created a new breed of grammar schools. The Grammar Schools Act 1840 made it lawful to apply the income of grammar schools to purposes other than the teaching of classical languages, but change still required the consent of the schoolmaster. The Taunton Commission was appointed to examine the 782 remaining endowed grammar schools. The Commission reported that the distribution of schools did not match the current population, and that provision was greatly varied in quality. Provision for girls was particularly limited. The Commission proposed the creation of a national system of secondary education by restructuring the endowments of these schools for modern purposes. After the [[Endowed Schools Act 1869]], it became markedly easier to set up a school. Many new schools were created with modern curricula, though often retaining a classical core. At the time, there was a great emphasis on the importance of [[self-improvement]], and parents keen for their children to receive a good education took a lead in organizing the creation of new schools.<ref>Peter Gordon, "Some Sources for the History of the Endowed Schools Commission, 1869-1900" ''British Journal of Educational Studies'' 14 (3).</ref> Many took the title "grammar school" for historical reasons.
  
−
The Tripartite System was largely abolished in England and Wales between 1965, with the issue of [[Circular 10/65]], and the [[Education Act 1976|1976 Education Act]]. Most grammar schools were amalgamated with a number of other local schools, to form neighbourhood [[Comprehensive School|comprehensive schools]], though a few were closed. This process proceeded quickly in Wales, with the closure of such schools as [[Cowbridge Grammar School]]. In England, implementation was more uneven, with some counties and individual schools resisting the change.<ref>{{cite paper
+
Grammar schools thus emerged as one part of the highly varied education system of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland before 1944. These newer schools tended to emulate the great [[Independents schools (UK)|public school]]s, copying their [[curriculum]], ethos, and ambitions. Many schools also adopted the idea of entrance exams and scholarships for poorer students. This meant that they offered able children from poor backgrounds an opportunity for a good education.<ref name="Spens Report"> Will Spens (1938), [http://www.dg.dial.pipex.com/documents/docs2/spens.shtml Secondary education with special reference to grammar schools and technical high schools,] HM Stationery Office, London. Retrieved May 25, 2008.</ref>
−
| author = Jörn-Steffen Pischke
 
−
| coauthors = Alan Manning
 
−
| title = Comprehensive versus Selective Schooling in England in Wales: What Do We Know?
 
−
| date = April 2006
 
−
| publisher = Working Paper No. 12176, [[National Bureau of Economic Research]]
 
−
| url = http://www.nber.org/papers/w12176
 
−
| accessdate = 2008-03-19
 
−
}}</ref>
 
  
−
Direct Grant Grammar Schools almost invariably severed their ties with the state sector, and became fully independent. There are thus many schools with the name "grammar," but which are not free. These schools normally select their pupils by an entrance examination, and sometimes an interview.
+
===Grammar schools in the Tripartite System===
 +
The 1944, [[Education Act 1944|Butler Education Act]] created the first nationwide system of [[secondary education]] in England and Wales.<ref>J.R. Hough, ''The Education System in England and Wales: A Synopsis'' (Loughborough University Press, 1991, ISBN 0946348065).</ref> It was echoed by the [[Education (Northern Ireland) Act 1947]]. Three types of schools were planned, one of which was the grammar school, the other two being the [[Secondary modern school]] and the [[Secondary Technical School|Technical school]]. Intended to teach an academic curriculum to intellectually able children who did well in their [[eleven plus]] examination, the grammar school soon established itself as the highest tier in the [[Tripartite System]].
  
−
While many former grammar schools ceased to be selective, some of them retained the word "grammar" in their name. Most of these schools remain comprehensive, while a few became [[Partially selective school (England)|partially selective]] or fully selective in the 1990s.
+
Two types of grammar school existed under the system. There were more than 2000 fully state funded "maintained" schools. They emulated the older grammar schools and sought to replicate the studious, aspirational atmosphere found in such establishments. Most were either newly created or built since the Victorian period.
 +
[[Image:MGS Main Building in Snow.jpg|250px|thumb|Manchester Grammar School]]
 +
In addition to those run fully by the state, there were 179 Direct Grant Grammar Schools. These took between one quarter and one half of their pupils from the state system, and the rest from fee-paying parents. They also exercised far greater freedom from local authorities, and were members of the [[Headmasters Conference|Headmasters' Conference]]. These schools included some very old schools, encouraged to partake in the Tripartite System, and achieved the best academic results of any state schools. The most famous example of a Direct Grant Grammar was [[Manchester Grammar School]].
  
−
==Contemporary grammar schools==
+
Grammar school pupils were given the best opportunities of any schoolchildren. Initially, they studied for the [[School Certificate (UK)|School Certificate]] and [[Higher School Certificate (UK)|Higher School Certificate]], replaced in 1951, by [[General Certificate of Education]] examinations at [[Ordinary Level|O-level]] (Ordinary level) and [[Advanced Level (UK)|A-level]] (Advanced level). In contrast, very few students at [[secondary modern school]]s took public examinations until the introduction of the less academic [[Certificate of Secondary Education]] (known as the CSE) in the 1960s.<ref>Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, [http://www.qca.org.uk/qca_6210.aspx The story of the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE).] Retrieved May 15, 2008 .</ref> Grammar schools possessed better facilities and received more funding than their secondary modern counterparts. Until the implementation of the [[Robbins Report]] in the 1960s, children from independent (public) schools and grammar schools effectively monopolized access to university. These schools were also the only ones that offered an extra term of school to prepare pupils for the competitive entrance exams for "Oxbridge"—[[Oxford University|Oxford]] and [[Cambridge University|Cambridge]] universities.
−
By the 1980s, all of the grammar schools in Wales and most of those in England had closed or become comprehensive.
 
−
(Selection also disappeared from state-funded schools in Scotland in the same period.)
 
  
−
===England: islands of selection===
+
===Abolition of the Tripartite System===
−
{{see also|List of grammar schools in England}}
+
The Tripartite System was largely abolished in England and Wales in the decade between 1965, with the issue of [[Circular 10/65]], and the [[Education Act 1976|1976 Education Act]]. Most grammar schools were amalgamated with a number of other local schools, to form neighborhood [[Comprehensive school]]s, although a few were closed. This process proceeded quickly in Wales, with the closure of such schools as [[Cowbridge Grammar School]]. In England, implementation was more uneven, with some counties and individual schools resisting the change.<ref>Jörn-Steffen Pischke and Alan Manning, Comprehensive versus Selective Schooling in England in Wales: What Do We Know? ''Working Paper,'' April 2006.</ref>
−
At the 1995 [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] conference, [[David Blunkett]], then education spokesman, promised that there would be no selection under a Labour government. However the party's manifesto for the 1997 election promised that "Any changes in the admissions policies of grammar schools will be decided by local parents."<ref>[http://www.labour-party.org.uk/manifestos/1997/1997-labour-manifesto.shtml new Labour because Britain deserves better], Labour Party manifesto, 1997.</ref> Under the Labour government's [[School Standards and Framework Act 1998]], grammar schools were for the first time to be designated by [[statutory instrument]].<ref>[http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1998/19982219.htm The Education (Grammar School Designation) Order 1998], Statutory Instrument 1998 No. 2219, UK Parliament.</ref><ref>[http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1999/19992456.htm The Education (Grammar School Designation) (Amendment) Order 1999], Statutory Instrument 1999 No. 2456, UK Parliament.</ref> The Act also defined a procedure by which local communities could petition for a ballot for an end to selection at schools.<ref>[http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1998/19982876.htm The Education (Grammar School Ballots) Regulations 1998], Statutory Instrument 1998 No. 2876, UK Parliament.</ref><ref>{{cite web
 
−
| title = A guide to petitions and ballots about grammar school admissions
 
−
| publisher = Department for Education and Schools
 
−
| year = 2000
 
−
| url = http://www.dfes.gov.uk/gsballots/main.shtml
 
−
}}</ref> Petitions were launched in several areas, but only one received the signatures of 20% of eligible parents, the level needed to trigger a ballot.<ref>{{cite news
 
−
| title = Campaign against 11-plus is faltering
 
−
| author = Judith Judd
 
−
| date = 2000-03-28
 
−
| work = [[The Independent]]
 
−
| url = http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/campaign-against-11plus-is-faltering-697931.html
 
−
}}</ref> Thus the only ballot held to date was for [[Ripon Grammar School]] in 2000, when parents rejected change by a ratio of 2 to 1.<ref>{{cite web
 
−
| title = Grammar school ballots
 
−
| url = http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/atoz/g/Grammar_school_ballots/
 
−
| publisher = teachernet
 
−
}}</ref> These arrangements were condemned by the Select Committee for Education and Skills as being ineffective and a waste of time and resources.<ref>{{cite web
 
−
| title = Select Committee on Education and Skills Fourth Report
 
−
| publisher = UK Parliament
 
−
| date = 2004-07-14
 
−
| url = http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmselect/cmeduski/58/5802.htm
 
−
}}</ref>
 
  
−
[[Image:Grammar school ballots in England.png|thumb|right|300px|Grammar school areas and groups as identified by the Education (Grammar School Ballots) Regulations 1998. LEAs considered grammar areas are shown filled, while circles indicate isolated grammar schools or clusters of neighbouring schools.]]
+
Direct Grant Grammar Schools almost invariably severed their ties with the state sector, and became fully independent. There are thus many schools with the name "grammar," but which are not free. These schools normally select their pupils by an entrance examination and, sometimes, an interview. While many former grammar schools ceased to be selective, some of them retained the word "grammar" in their name. Most of these schools remain comprehensive, while a few became partially selective or fully [[selective school|selective]] in the 1990s.
−
There are still 164 state-run grammar schools in existence.<ref>[http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmhansrd/cm070716/text/70716w0022.htm House of Commons Hansard, 16 July 2007: Columns 104W-107W], UK Parliament Publications & Records.</ref> Only a few areas keep a formal grammar school system along the lines of the Tripartite System. In these areas, the [[eleven plus exam]] is used solely to identify a subset of children (around 25%) considered suitable for grammar education. When a grammar school has too many qualified applicants, other criteria are used to allocate places, such as siblings, distance or faith. Such systems still exist in Buckinghamshire, Rugby and Stratford districts of Warwickshire, the Salisbury district of Wiltshire, Stroud in Gloucestershire and most of Lincolnshire, Kent and Medway. Of metropolitan areas, Trafford and most of Wirral are selective.<ref>{{cite paper
 
−
| title = The Comparative Evaluation of GCSE Value-Added Performance by Type of School and LEA
 
−
| author = David Jesson
 
−
| date = 2000
 
−
| publisher = ''Discussion Papers in Economics'' 2000/52, Centre for Performance Evaluation and Resource Management, [[University of York]]
 
−
| url = http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/econ/documents/dp/0052.pdf
 
−
| accessdate = 2008-03-19
 
−
}}</ref><ref>{{cite conference
 
−
| title = The impact of selection on pupil performance
 
−
| author = Ian Schagen and Sandie Schagen
 
−
| date = 2001-10-19
 
−
| booktitle = Council of Members Meeting
 
−
| publisher = [[National Foundation for Educational Research]]
 
−
| url = http://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/other-publications/conference-papers/pdf_docs/schagen01.PDF
 
−
}}</ref>
 
  
−
In other areas, grammar schools survive mainly as very highly selective schools in an otherwise comprehensive county, for example in several of the outer boroughs of London. In some LEAs, as few as 2% of 11 year olds may attend grammar schools. These schools are often heavily over-subscribed, and award places in rank order of performance in their entry tests. They also tend to dominate the top positions in performance tables.<ref>{{cite news
+
The debate about the British Tripartite System continued years after its abolition was initiated, and evolved into a debate about the pros and cons of selective education in general.  
−
| title = Grammars show they can compete with best
 
−
| author = Sian Griffiths
 
−
| work = The Sunday Times
 
−
| date = 2007-11-18
 
−
| url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article2889322.ece
 
−
}}</ref>
 
  
−
Since 1997 successive [[Secretary of State for Education|Education Secretaries]] have expressed support for an increase in selective education along the lines of old grammar schools. [[Specialist school]]s, [[advanced schools]], [[beacon school|beacon schools]] and similar initiatives have been proposed as ways of raising standards, either offering the chance to impose selection or recognizing the achievements of selective schools. Tony Blair has talked of an "escalator" system, and government education policy appears to accept the existence of some kind of hierarchy in secondary education.<ref>{{cite paper
+
Supporters of the grammar school system contend that intelligent children from poor backgrounds were far better served by the Tripartite System as they had an opportunity to receive a free excellent education and thus be able to enter the best universities. However there were many middle-class parents who were upset if their children didn't get into a grammar school. So the Comprehensive System was created with the intention of offering a grammar school-quality education for all. This did not materialize as a grammar school curriculum is not suitable for everyone. As a result, many pupils have been put off education by an inappropriate academic curriculum. With increasing concern about levels of classroom discipline, it is argued that comprehensive schools can foster an environment that is not conducive to academic achievement.<ref name="BBCKent">Kate Jackson, [http://www.bbc.co.uk/kent/news/features/grammars_jackson.shtml Grammar school debate: Are Grammar Schools Better?] BBC Kent. Retrieved May 20, 2008.</ref> Bright children can suffer [[bullying]] for doing well at school, and have to justify their performance to their social group.<ref name="BBCKent"/> The grammar school, catering exclusively to the more able, is thus seen as providing a safer environment in which such children can attain academic success.  
−
| title = The Right to a Comprehensive Education
 
−
| author = Clyde Chitty
 
−
| version = Second Caroline Benn Memorial Lecture
 
−
| date = 2002-11-16
 
−
| url = http://www.socialisteducation.org.uk/CB2.htm
 
−
}}</ref>
 
−
In most assessments, grammar schools stand at the apex of any such structure. Grammar schools receive an average of £1000 per head more than other schools, leading to accusations of dividing and separating social classes, as middle-/upper-class families are more likely to send their children to grammar school or hire a private tutor to help them. {{Fact|date=February 2007}}
 
  
−
===Northern Ireland: expansion of the selective system===
+
Many opponents of the Tripartite System argue that the grammar school was antithetical to social leveling.<ref name="BBCKent"/> A system that splits the population into the intelligent and the unintelligent based on a test at the age of 11 does not aid social integration. The tripartite system gave an extremely important role to the [[eleven plus]]. Those who passed were seen as successes, while those that failed were stigmatized as second class pupils. The merits of testing at age eleven, when children were at varying stages of maturity, has been questioned, particularly when the impact of the test on later life is taken into account. Children who developed later (so-called "late bloomers") suffered because there was inflexibility in the system to move them between grammar and secondary modern schools. Once a child had been allocated to one type of school or the other it was extremely difficult to have this assessment changed. A better way of framing the test would be as one deciding on a child's aptitude and thus guiding them into either an excellent academic education or an excellent vocational education.
−
{{see also|List of grammar schools in Northern Ireland}}
 
−
Attempts to move to a comprehensive system (as in the rest of the United Kingdom) have been delayed by shifts in the administration of the province.
 
−
As a result, [[Northern Ireland]] still maintains the grammar school system with most pupils being entered for the [[Eleven Plus]].
 
−
Since the "open enrolment" reform of 1989, these schools (unlike those in England) have been required to accept pupils up to their capacity, which has also increased.<ref>{{cite paper
 
−
| title = Educational Effects of Widening Access to the Academic Track: A Natural Experiment
 
−
| first = Eric | last = Maurin | coauthors = McNally, Sandra
 
−
| publisher = Centre for the Economics of Education, [[London School of Economics]], Discussion Paper 85
 
−
| date = August 2007
 
−
| url = http://cee.lse.ac.uk/cee%20dps/ceedp85.pdf
 
−
| accessdate = 2008-04-04
 
−
}}</ref>
 
−
By 2006, the 69 grammar schools took 42% of transferring children, and only 7 of them took all of their intake from the top 30% of the cohort.<ref>{{cite web
 
−
| title = Education Minister's Statement for the Stormont Education Committee
 
−
| first = Caitríona | last = Ruane
 
−
| date = 2008-01-31
 
−
| url = http://www.deni.gov.uk/index/85-schools/6-admission-and-choice/statement_for_the_education_committee_48_kb_.pdf
 
−
| accessdate = 2008-04-04
 
−
}}</ref>
 
  
−
The 11-plus has long been controversial, and the province's political parties have taken opposing positions. Unionists tend to lean towards preserving the grammar schools as they are, with academic selection at the age of 11, whereas republicans lean towards scrapping the Eleven Plus. The [[Democratic Unionist Party]] claimed to have ensured the continuation of the grammar school system in the Province as part of the [[St Andrews Agreement]] in October 2006. By contrast [[Sinn Féin]] claims to have secured the abolition of the 11+ and a veto over any system which might follow it.
+
One reason the debate over selective education, or the "grammar school debate," continued for so long is that it reflects important differences in views about [[egalitarianism|equality]] and [[achievement]]. The problem was not so much that the grammar schools provided an excellent academic education which suited its pupils. It was that the education given to pupils at secondary modern schools was not well resourced and did not provide a curriculum that would give its pupils the kind of qualifications they would need after they left school. The effort to establish comprehensive schools, following the vision of those such as [[Anthony Crosland]] to end selectivity, failed to produce a successful educational system for all. One result paradoxically was a significant decline in [[social mobility]] as it became much rarer for children from a socially deprived background to go to the best universities.<ref>Anne-Marie Brook, Raising Education Achievement and Breaking the Cycle of Inequality in the United Kingdom, ''Economics Department Working Papers,''  633, 2008.</ref> Yet, for many,
 +
<blockquote>The comprehensive ideal remains powerful. The belief that drove politicians like Crosland should drive us now. It is a passion that all children, from whatever background, are alike in their capacity to reason, to imagine, to aspire to a successful life. In the 60s this meant rejecting the flawed science and injustice of the 11-plus and it meant radical surgery for a system in which children's futures were, in large part, decided on one day when they were 11.<ref name=kelly>Ruth Kelly, [http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2005/mar/30/publicservices.schools Beyond Crosland's vision,] ''The Guardian,'' Wednesday March 30, 2005. Retrieved May 20, 2008.</ref></blockquote>
  
−
The last 11-plus exam will be held in 2008 (for 2009 entry).
+
The failure of the comprehensive system can be argued as more a failure of implementation than a wrong direction:
−
A proposed new transfer point at age 14, with specialisation of schools beyond that point, may offer a future role for grammar schools.<ref>{{cite press release
+
<blockquote>There was little agreement on what it meant to provide a high-quality education once children were inside the school gate. Schools tended to take on a single model, with little scope for developing distinctive character or mission. The creation of "good" middle-class and "bad" working-class comprehensive schools was not predicted. And parents and pupils were not at the heart of reform.<ref name=kelly/>
−
| title = Minister Ruane outlines education reforms
+
</blockquote>
−
| date = 2007-12-04
 
−
| publisher = Department of Education, Northern Ireland
 
−
| url = http://www.northernireland.gov.uk/news/news-de/news-de-041207-minister-ruane-outlines.htm
 
−
}}</ref>
 
−
However, a consortium of 25 grammar schools intend to run a common entry test for 2009 admissions, and [[Lumen Christi College]], the top-ranking Catholic school, also plans to run its own tests.<ref>{{cite news
 
−
| title = 'Test' schools accept D grade pupils
 
−
| first = Lisa | last = Smith
 
−
| date = 2007-12-17
 
−
| work = Belfast Telegraph
 
−
| url = http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/education/article3258563.ece
 
−
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
 
−
| title = Top grammar plans own '11-plus'
 
−
| first = William | last = Allen
 
−
| date = 2008-03-17
 
−
| work = Belfast Telegraph
 
−
| url = http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/article3532649.ece
 
−
}}</ref>
 
  
 +
In March 2000, the [[Secretary of State for Education and Skills|Education Secretary]] [[David Blunkett]] sought to close down the debate by saying "I'm desperately trying to avoid the whole debate in education concentrating on the issue of selection when it should be concentrating on the raising of standards. Arguments about selection are a past agenda."<ref>BBC News, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/674188.stm Grammar debate is a "past agenda."] Retrieved May 20, 2008.</ref>
  
−
===Australia===
+
==Contemporary grammar schools==
−
In [[Australia]], "grammar schools" are generally high-cost non-government Protestant private schools. Those using the term "grammar" in their title are often the oldest Protestant school in their area.
+
By the 1980s, all of the grammar schools in Wales and most of those in England had closed or become [[Comprehensive school|comprehensive]]. Selection also disappeared from state-funded schools in Scotland in the same period.
  
−
==Hong Kong==
+
===England===
−
In [[Hong Kong]], secondary schools primarily offering a traditional curriculum (instead of [[vocational]] subjects) are grammar schools.
+
[[Image:Grammar school ballots in England.png|thumb|right|250px|Grammar school areas and groups as identified by the Education (Grammar School Ballots) Regulations 1998. LEAs considered grammar areas are shown filled, while circles indicate isolated grammar schools or clusters of neighboring schools.]]
 +
In the early years of the twenty-first century, there were still 164 state-run grammar schools in existence in England.<ref>UK Parlaiment Publications and Records, [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmhansrd/cm070716/text/70716w0022.htm House of Commons Hansard, 16 July 2007: Columns 104W-107W.] Retrieved May 19, 2008.</ref> Only a few areas keep a formal grammar school system along the lines of the Tripartite System. In these areas, the [[eleven plus exam]] is used solely to identify a subset of children (around 25 percent) considered suitable for grammar education. When a grammar school has too many qualified applicants, other criteria are used to allocate places, such as siblings, distance or faith. Such systems still exist in Buckinghamshire, Rugby and Stratford districts of Warwickshire, the Salisbury district of Wiltshire, Stroud in Gloucestershire, and most of Lincolnshire, Kent and Medway. Of metropolitan areas, Trafford and most of Wirral are selective.<ref>David Jesson, [http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/econ/documents/dp/0052.pdf The Comparative Evaluation of GCSE Value-Added Performance by Type of School and LEA.] Retrieved March 19, 2008.</ref>
  
−
==Republic of Ireland==
+
In other areas, grammar schools survive mainly as very highly selective schools in an otherwise comprehensive county, for example in several of the outer boroughs of London. In some LEAs, as few as two percent of 11 year olds may attend grammar schools. These schools are often heavily over-subscribed, and award places in rank order of performance in their entry tests. They also tend to dominate the top positions in performance tables.<ref>Sian Griffiths, [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article2889322.ece Grammars show they can compete with best,] ''Sunday Times.'' Retrieved May 25, 2008.</ref>
−
Education in the [[Republic of Ireland]], and [[Northern Ireland]], has been mainly organised on [[Christian denomination|denomination]]al lines. Grammar schools along the lines of those in Great Britain were set up for members of the [[Church of Ireland]] prior to its [[disestablishment]] in 1871. Some schools remain, as private schools catering largely for Protestant students. These are often fee-paying and accommodate boarders, given the scattered nature of the Protestant population in much of Ireland. Such schools include those in [[Bandon]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bandongrammar.ie/mission.htm |accessdate=2007-02-13 |title=Bandon Grammar School: mission and ethos |quote=Bandon Grammar School is a co-educational, boarding and day school founded in 1641, with an historic and valued association with the Church of Ireland. }}</ref>, [[Drogheda]] (run by [[Religious Society of Friends|Quakers]] since 1956<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.quakers-in-ireland.ie/archive/TFW06.htm#dgs |title=Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Ireland: Drogheda Grammar School |quote=This year sees the 50th anniversary of Quaker involvement with Drogheda Grammar School. At the time a Quaker committee took over the running of the school... |accessdate=2007-02-13 |date=2006}}</ref>), [[Dundalk]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dundalkgrammarschool.ie |title=Dundalk Grammar School homepage |quote=Since 1739 the school has been closely associated with the Incorporated Society for Promoting Protestant Schools in Ireland. |accessdate=2007-02-13 }}</ref> and [[Sligo]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sligogrammarschool.org/ourschool.htm |title=Sligo Grammar School: the school |quote=The school is one of a small number of schools in the Republic of Ireland under Church of Ireland management |accessdate=2007-02-13}}</ref>. Others are among the many former fee-paying schools which have been absorbed into larger state-funded Community Schools, Community Colleges, and Comprehensive Schools, founded since the introduction of universal secondary education in the Republic by minister [[Donagh O'Malley]] in the 1960s. Examples include [[Cork]] Grammar School, replaced by Ashton Comprehensive School.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ashton.ie/history.htm |accessdate=2007-02-13 |title=Ashton School: history  |quote=Ashton School, as a comprehensive school, was founded in September 1972 when Rochelle School and Cork Grammar School merged on the Grammar School site. }}</ref>
 
  
−
==United Kingdom==
+
Since 1997, successive [[Secretary of State for Education|Education Secretaries]] have expressed support for an increase in selective education along the lines of old grammar schools. [[Specialist school]]s, [[advanced school]]s, [[beacon school]]s, and similar initiatives have been proposed as ways of raising standards, either offering the chance to impose selection or recognizing the achievements of selective schools.
−
 
 
−
 
 
−
By the late mediæval period in Britain there were many schools teaching Latin grammar. In England the [[Tudor]] King [[Edward VI]] reorganised these schools or instituted new ones so that there was a national system of "free grammar schools" that were in theory open to all and offered free tuition to those who could not afford to pay fees. The vast majority of poor children did not attend these schools since their labour was economically valuable to their families.
 
−
 
 
−
In the late [[Victorian era|Victorian]] period grammar schools were reorganised and their curriculum was modernised, although Latin was still taught.
 
−
 
 
−
Following the [[Education Act 1944]] the [[Tripartite System]] was established, similar to the European tiered school system. This placed the grammar school as the place of education for the academically gifted (as determined by the [[eleven plus]] exam). Other children attended [[technical schools]] or [[secondary modern school]]s. The system became [[Debates on the grammar school|controversial]] in the post-war years. Critics condemned it as being elitist and defenders claimed that grammar schools allow pupils to obtain a good education through merit rather than through family income. In the mid-1960s the then Labour Government tried to restrict or abolish grammar schools by requiring local authorities to introduce [[comprehensive school]]s. Following this, some grammar schools became fully independent and charged fees, while still usually retaining "grammar school" in their title. However, many grammar schools continue to be state run.
 
−
 
 
−
The 11 plus exam has since been abolished in most parts of the UK but it remains in [[Northern Ireland]] and some English counties such as [[Kent]], [[Buckinghamshire]], [[Essex]], [[Trafford]], [[Wiltshire]], [[The Wirral]] and [[Lincolnshire]] and [[London boroughs]] such as [[Bromley]] and [[Redbridge]], despite so far unsuccessful attempts by campaigners to have it abolished there too. Grammar schools are selective, typically taking the top 10% of those from the local catchment area. Some grammar schools in the United Kingdom can trace their history back to earlier than the [[16th century]].
 
−
 
 
−
 
 
−
A '''grammar school''' is one of several different types of [[school]] in the history of education in the [[United Kingdom]]. Four distinct uses of the word can be noted, the first two referring to ordinary schools set up in the age before compulsory secondary education, and two referring to [[selective school]]s thereafter. Arguably the most well-known grammar schools were those of the [[Tripartite System]] (also known colloquially as the grammar-school system), which existed in England and Wales from the mid-1940s to the late 1960s, and still exists in Northern Ireland.
 
  
 +
===Northern Ireland===
 +
[[Image:Lumen Christi College SMC.jpg|thumb|left|250 px|Lumen Christi College, Derry, Northern Ireland]]
 +
Attempts to move to a comprehensive system (as in the rest of the United Kingdom) have been delayed by shifts in the administration of the province. As a result, [[Northern Ireland]] still maintains the grammar school system with most pupils being entered for the [[Eleven plus]].
 +
Since the "open enrollment" reform of 1989, these schools (unlike those in England) have been required to accept pupils up to their capacity, which has also increased.<ref>Eric Maurin and Sandra McNally, [http://cee.lse.ac.uk/cee%20dps/ceedp85.pdf Educational Effects of Widening Access to the Academic Track: A Natural Experiment.] Retrieved April 4, 2008.</ref>
  
 +
By 2006, the 69 grammar schools took 42 percent of transferring children, and only 7 of them took all of their intake from the top 30 percent of the cohort.<ref>Caitriona Ruane, [http://www.deni.gov.uk/index/85-schools/6-admission-and-choice/statement_for_the_education_committee_48_kb_.pdf Education Minister's Statement for the Stormont Education Committee.] Retrieved April 4, 2008.</ref>
  
 +
With the end of the eleven plus, a proposed new transfer point at age 14, with specialization of schools beyond that point, may offer a future role for grammar schools. Alternatively, a consortium of 25 grammar schools could run a common entry test for admissions, while others, such as [[Lumen Christi College]], the top-ranking Catholic school, have plans to run their own tests.<ref>Lisa Smith, [http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/education/article3258563.ece "Test" schools accept D grade pupils.] Retrieved May 25, 2008.</ref>
  
 +
===Australia===
 +
In [[Australia]], "grammar schools" are generally high-cost [[Anglican Church of Australia]] schools, public schools in the sense of the [[Associated Public Schools of Victoria]] and the [[Associated Grammar Schools of Victoria]]. Those using the term "grammar" in their title are often the oldest Anglican school in their area. Examples of these include such schools as [[Camberwell Grammar School]] (1886), [[Caulfield Grammar School]] (1881), [[Geelong Grammar School]] (1855), and [[Melbourne Grammar School]] (1858). The equivalent of the English grammar schools are known as [[selective school]]s.
  
 +
===Hong Kong===
 +
[[Hong Kong]] developed its [[Secondary education]] largely based on the [[England|English]] schooling system, with [[single-sex education]] being widespread. Secondary schools primarily offering a traditional curriculum (instead of [[Vocational education|vocational]] subjects) were thus called grammar schools.
  
−
 
+
==Notes==
−
 
+
<references/>
−
 
 
−
==United States==
 
−
In the United States, the term has often been used as a synonym for [[primary education|elementary school]], although this usage is somewhat in decline.
 
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
−
<references/>
+
*Bryce, T. G. K., and Walter M. Humes (eds.). ''Scottish Education: Post-Devolution.'' Edinburgh University Press, 2003 (original 1999). ISBN 0748609806.
−
 
+
*Carlisle, Nicholas. ''A Concise Description of the Endowed Grammar Schools in England and Wales.'' Thoemmes Continuum, 2002. ISBN 978-1855069565.
−
 
+
*Curtis, Polly. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/feb/01/uk.schools Grammar schools fuelling social segregation, academics find.] ''The Guardian'' (Friday February 1 2008). Retrieved December 31, 2022.
−
 
+
*Hough, J. R. ''The Education System in England and Wales: A Synopsis.'' Loughborough University Press, 1991. ISBN 0946348065.
 +
*Naylor, Fred, and Roger Peach. ''The Truth About Grammar Schools.'' National Grammar Schools Association, 2005.
  
 
== External links==
 
== External links==
−
*[http://www.kbr30.dial.pipex.com/educ19.shtml A general timeline of British education]
+
All links retrieved July 8, 2017.
−
*[http://www.likesnail.org.uk/library/elizabethan.htm Links on Elizabethan education]
+
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/3571387.stm Grammar schools have expanded]
−
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/3571387.stm The situation of grammar schools today]
 
−
*[http://www.ngsa.org.uk/ National Grammar Schools Association]
 
−
*[http://support-kent-schools.org.uk/ Support Kent Schools]
 
−
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/2131174.stm An article] on advanced schools and other advanced sections of the English secondary system.
 
−
*[http://education.guardian.co.uk/specialreports/grammarschools/0,5477,83276,00.html Commentary] by ''[[The Guardian]]'' about grammar schools today
 
−
 
 
−
*[http://www.kbr30.dial.pipex.com/history/index.shtml A general timeline of British education]
 
−
*[http://www.likesnail.org.uk/library/elizabethan.htm Links on Elizabethan education]
 
−
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/3571387.stm The situation of grammar schools today]
 
 
*[http://www.ngsa.org.uk/ National Grammar Schools Association]
 
*[http://www.ngsa.org.uk/ National Grammar Schools Association]
−
*[http://support-kent-schools.org.uk/ Support Kent Schools]
+
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/2131174.stm Q and A: Advanced schools] An article on advanced schools and other advanced sections of the English secondary system.
−
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/2131174.stm An article] on advanced schools and other advanced sections of the English secondary system.
+
*[http://www.campaignforstateeducation.org.uk/ Campaign for State Education]
−
*[http://education.guardian.co.uk/specialreports/grammarschools/0,5477,83276,00.html Commentary] by ''[[The Guardian]]'' about grammar schools today
 
−
*[http://www.campaignforstateeducation.org.uk/ say NO to selection!]
 
−
*[http://www.comprehensivefuture.org.uk/ Campaign for Fair Admissions]
 
−
*{{cite paper
 
−
| title = The impact of the structure of secondary education in Slough
 
−
| author = Ian Schagen | coauthors = Sandy Schagen
 
−
| date = November 2001
 
−
| publisher = [[National Foundation for Educational Research]]
 
−
| url = http://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/other-publications/downloadable-reports/pdf_docs/slsfinalreport.pdf
 
−
| accessdate = 2008-03-20
 
−
}}
 
−
 
 
  
−
{{Credits|Grammar_school|110090055|Grammar_schools_in_the_United_Kingdom|206001570|}}
+
{{Credits|Grammar_school|110090055|Grammar_schools_in_the_United_Kingdom|206001570|Debates_on_the_grammar_school|199087877}}

Latest revision as of 12:15, 24 January 2023

Schools
Musica 1488.jpg
Education
History of education
Pedagogy
Teaching
Homeschooling
Preschool education
Child care center
Kindergarten
Primary education
Elementary school
Secondary education
Middle school
Comprehensive school
Grammar school
Gymnasium
High school
Preparatory school
Public school
Tertiary education
College
Community college
Liberal arts college
University

A grammar school, a term most often used in the United Kingdom and Australia, is a secondary school in which a traditional academic curriculum is taught in preparation for university. In the past, subjects such as Latin and Greek were emphasized. Four distinct uses of the word can be noted, the first two referring to ordinary schools set up in the age before compulsory secondary education, and two referring to selective schools thereafter. Arguably the most well-known grammar schools were those of the Tripartite System (also known colloquially as the grammar-school system), which existed in England and Wales from the mid-1940s to the late 1960s, and still exists in Northern Ireland. Pupils are admitted at age 12 usually after an examination called the Eleven Plus Exam.

Grammar schools were established to provide an academic education for the most able irrespective of their social or economic background. While some continue to support the idea of selective education, with the academically gifted (at age eleven) receiving education appropriate for tertiary education at the university level while others receive vocational education or a general education, for many this system is regarded as elitist and socially divisive. Reform of the system in the latter part of the twentieth century, introduced the comprehensive school for all students and closed the majority of grammar schools. One result paradoxically was a significant decline in social mobility, as it became much rarer for children from a socially deprived background to go to the best universities. The problem is that many people think that a good academic education is better than a good vocational education. What is more important is that children receive an education that can best enable them to fulfill their potential.

History

In medieval times, the importance of Latin in government and religion meant there was a strong demand to learn the language. Schools were set up to teach the basis of Latin grammar, calling themselves "grammar schools." Pupils were usually educated up to the age of 14, after which they would look to universities and the church for further study.

Although the term scolae grammaticales did not enter common usage until the fourteenth century, the earliest schools of this type appeared from the sixth century, for example, the King's School, Canterbury (founded 597) and the King's School, Rochester (604). They were attached to cathedrals and monasteries, and taught Latin (the language of the church) to future priests and monks. Other subjects required for religious work might also be taught, including music and verse (for liturgy), astronomy and mathematics (for the church calendar), and law (for administration).

With the foundation of the ancient universities from the late twelfth century, grammar schools became the entry point to an education in the liberal arts, with Latin seen as the foundation of the trivium. The first schools independent of the church, Winchester College (1382) and Eton College (1440), were closely tied to the universities, and as boarding schools became national in character.

During the English Reformation in the sixteenth century, many cathedral schools were closed and replaced by new foundations using the proceeds of the dissolution of the monasteries. For example, the oldest extant schools in Wales were founded on the sites of former Dominican monasteries. Edward VI also made an important contribution to grammar schools, founding a series of schools during his reign (see King Edward's School), and James I founded a series of "Royal Schools" in Ulster, beginning with The Royal School, Armagh.

In the absence of civic authorities, grammar schools were established as acts of charity, either by private benefactors or corporate bodies such as guilds. Many of these are still commemorated in annual "Founder's Day" services and ceremonies at surviving schools.

Teaching usually took place from dawn to dusk, and focused heavily upon the rote learning of Latin. It would be several years before pupils were able to construct a sentence, and they would be in their final years at the school when they began translating passages. In order to encourage fluency, some schoolmasters recommended punishing any pupil who spoke in English. By the end of their studies, they would be quite familiar with the great Latin authors, as well as the studies of drama and rhetoric.[1]

Other skills, such as numeracy and handwriting, were neglected, being taught in odd moments or by traveling specialist teachers such as scriveners. Little attention was given to other classical languages, such as Greek, due to a shortage of non-Latin type and of teachers fluent in the language.

King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford.

In England, pressure from the urban middle class for a commercial curriculum was often supported by the school's trustees (who would charge the new students fees) but resisted by the schoolmaster, supported by the terms of the original endowment. A few schools managed to obtain special Acts of Parliament to change their statutes, such as the Macclesfield Grammar School Act 1774 and the Bolton Grammar School Act 1788, but most could not. Such a dispute between the trustees and master of Leeds Grammar School led to a celebrated case in the Court of Chancery. After 10 years, Lord Eldon, then Lord Chancellor, ruled in 1805, "There is no authority for thus changing the nature of the Charity, and filling a School intended for the purpose of teaching Greek and Latin with Scholars learning the German and French languages, mathematics, and anything except Greek and Latin."[2]

During the Scottish Reformation, schools such as the Choir School of Glasgow Cathedral (founded 1124) and the Grammar School of the Church of Edinburgh (1128) passed from the control of the church to burgh councils, and the burghs also founded new schools.

In Scotland, the burgh councils were able to update the curricula of existing schools. As a result, Scotland no longer has grammar schools in any of the senses discussed here, though some, such as Aberdeen Grammar School, retain the name.[3]

Victorian grammar schools

The revolution in civic government that took place in the late nineteenth century created a new breed of grammar schools. The Grammar Schools Act 1840 made it lawful to apply the income of grammar schools to purposes other than the teaching of classical languages, but change still required the consent of the schoolmaster. The Taunton Commission was appointed to examine the 782 remaining endowed grammar schools. The Commission reported that the distribution of schools did not match the current population, and that provision was greatly varied in quality. Provision for girls was particularly limited. The Commission proposed the creation of a national system of secondary education by restructuring the endowments of these schools for modern purposes. After the Endowed Schools Act 1869, it became markedly easier to set up a school. Many new schools were created with modern curricula, though often retaining a classical core. At the time, there was a great emphasis on the importance of self-improvement, and parents keen for their children to receive a good education took a lead in organizing the creation of new schools.[4] Many took the title "grammar school" for historical reasons.

Grammar schools thus emerged as one part of the highly varied education system of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland before 1944. These newer schools tended to emulate the great public schools, copying their curriculum, ethos, and ambitions. Many schools also adopted the idea of entrance exams and scholarships for poorer students. This meant that they offered able children from poor backgrounds an opportunity for a good education.[5]

Grammar schools in the Tripartite System

The 1944, Butler Education Act created the first nationwide system of secondary education in England and Wales.[6] It was echoed by the Education (Northern Ireland) Act 1947. Three types of schools were planned, one of which was the grammar school, the other two being the Secondary modern school and the Technical school. Intended to teach an academic curriculum to intellectually able children who did well in their eleven plus examination, the grammar school soon established itself as the highest tier in the Tripartite System.

Two types of grammar school existed under the system. There were more than 2000 fully state funded "maintained" schools. They emulated the older grammar schools and sought to replicate the studious, aspirational atmosphere found in such establishments. Most were either newly created or built since the Victorian period.

Manchester Grammar School

In addition to those run fully by the state, there were 179 Direct Grant Grammar Schools. These took between one quarter and one half of their pupils from the state system, and the rest from fee-paying parents. They also exercised far greater freedom from local authorities, and were members of the Headmasters' Conference. These schools included some very old schools, encouraged to partake in the Tripartite System, and achieved the best academic results of any state schools. The most famous example of a Direct Grant Grammar was Manchester Grammar School.

Grammar school pupils were given the best opportunities of any schoolchildren. Initially, they studied for the School Certificate and Higher School Certificate, replaced in 1951, by General Certificate of Education examinations at O-level (Ordinary level) and A-level (Advanced level). In contrast, very few students at secondary modern schools took public examinations until the introduction of the less academic Certificate of Secondary Education (known as the CSE) in the 1960s.[7] Grammar schools possessed better facilities and received more funding than their secondary modern counterparts. Until the implementation of the Robbins Report in the 1960s, children from independent (public) schools and grammar schools effectively monopolized access to university. These schools were also the only ones that offered an extra term of school to prepare pupils for the competitive entrance exams for "Oxbridge"—Oxford and Cambridge universities.

Abolition of the Tripartite System

The Tripartite System was largely abolished in England and Wales in the decade between 1965, with the issue of Circular 10/65, and the 1976 Education Act. Most grammar schools were amalgamated with a number of other local schools, to form neighborhood Comprehensive schools, although a few were closed. This process proceeded quickly in Wales, with the closure of such schools as Cowbridge Grammar School. In England, implementation was more uneven, with some counties and individual schools resisting the change.[8]

Direct Grant Grammar Schools almost invariably severed their ties with the state sector, and became fully independent. There are thus many schools with the name "grammar," but which are not free. These schools normally select their pupils by an entrance examination and, sometimes, an interview. While many former grammar schools ceased to be selective, some of them retained the word "grammar" in their name. Most of these schools remain comprehensive, while a few became partially selective or fully selective in the 1990s.

The debate about the British Tripartite System continued years after its abolition was initiated, and evolved into a debate about the pros and cons of selective education in general.

Supporters of the grammar school system contend that intelligent children from poor backgrounds were far better served by the Tripartite System as they had an opportunity to receive a free excellent education and thus be able to enter the best universities. However there were many middle-class parents who were upset if their children didn't get into a grammar school. So the Comprehensive System was created with the intention of offering a grammar school-quality education for all. This did not materialize as a grammar school curriculum is not suitable for everyone. As a result, many pupils have been put off education by an inappropriate academic curriculum. With increasing concern about levels of classroom discipline, it is argued that comprehensive schools can foster an environment that is not conducive to academic achievement.[9] Bright children can suffer bullying for doing well at school, and have to justify their performance to their social group.[9] The grammar school, catering exclusively to the more able, is thus seen as providing a safer environment in which such children can attain academic success.

Many opponents of the Tripartite System argue that the grammar school was antithetical to social leveling.[9] A system that splits the population into the intelligent and the unintelligent based on a test at the age of 11 does not aid social integration. The tripartite system gave an extremely important role to the eleven plus. Those who passed were seen as successes, while those that failed were stigmatized as second class pupils. The merits of testing at age eleven, when children were at varying stages of maturity, has been questioned, particularly when the impact of the test on later life is taken into account. Children who developed later (so-called "late bloomers") suffered because there was inflexibility in the system to move them between grammar and secondary modern schools. Once a child had been allocated to one type of school or the other it was extremely difficult to have this assessment changed. A better way of framing the test would be as one deciding on a child's aptitude and thus guiding them into either an excellent academic education or an excellent vocational education.

One reason the debate over selective education, or the "grammar school debate," continued for so long is that it reflects important differences in views about equality and achievement. The problem was not so much that the grammar schools provided an excellent academic education which suited its pupils. It was that the education given to pupils at secondary modern schools was not well resourced and did not provide a curriculum that would give its pupils the kind of qualifications they would need after they left school. The effort to establish comprehensive schools, following the vision of those such as Anthony Crosland to end selectivity, failed to produce a successful educational system for all. One result paradoxically was a significant decline in social mobility as it became much rarer for children from a socially deprived background to go to the best universities.[10] Yet, for many,

The comprehensive ideal remains powerful. The belief that drove politicians like Crosland should drive us now. It is a passion that all children, from whatever background, are alike in their capacity to reason, to imagine, to aspire to a successful life. In the 60s this meant rejecting the flawed science and injustice of the 11-plus and it meant radical surgery for a system in which children's futures were, in large part, decided on one day when they were 11.[11]

The failure of the comprehensive system can be argued as more a failure of implementation than a wrong direction:

There was little agreement on what it meant to provide a high-quality education once children were inside the school gate. Schools tended to take on a single model, with little scope for developing distinctive character or mission. The creation of "good" middle-class and "bad" working-class comprehensive schools was not predicted. And parents and pupils were not at the heart of reform.[11]

In March 2000, the Education Secretary David Blunkett sought to close down the debate by saying "I'm desperately trying to avoid the whole debate in education concentrating on the issue of selection when it should be concentrating on the raising of standards. Arguments about selection are a past agenda."[12]

Contemporary grammar schools

By the 1980s, all of the grammar schools in Wales and most of those in England had closed or become comprehensive. Selection also disappeared from state-funded schools in Scotland in the same period.

England

Grammar school areas and groups as identified by the Education (Grammar School Ballots) Regulations 1998. LEAs considered grammar areas are shown filled, while circles indicate isolated grammar schools or clusters of neighboring schools.

In the early years of the twenty-first century, there were still 164 state-run grammar schools in existence in England.[13] Only a few areas keep a formal grammar school system along the lines of the Tripartite System. In these areas, the eleven plus exam is used solely to identify a subset of children (around 25 percent) considered suitable for grammar education. When a grammar school has too many qualified applicants, other criteria are used to allocate places, such as siblings, distance or faith. Such systems still exist in Buckinghamshire, Rugby and Stratford districts of Warwickshire, the Salisbury district of Wiltshire, Stroud in Gloucestershire, and most of Lincolnshire, Kent and Medway. Of metropolitan areas, Trafford and most of Wirral are selective.[14]

In other areas, grammar schools survive mainly as very highly selective schools in an otherwise comprehensive county, for example in several of the outer boroughs of London. In some LEAs, as few as two percent of 11 year olds may attend grammar schools. These schools are often heavily over-subscribed, and award places in rank order of performance in their entry tests. They also tend to dominate the top positions in performance tables.[15]

Since 1997, successive Education Secretaries have expressed support for an increase in selective education along the lines of old grammar schools. Specialist schools, advanced schools, beacon schools, and similar initiatives have been proposed as ways of raising standards, either offering the chance to impose selection or recognizing the achievements of selective schools.

Northern Ireland

Lumen Christi College, Derry, Northern Ireland

Attempts to move to a comprehensive system (as in the rest of the United Kingdom) have been delayed by shifts in the administration of the province. As a result, Northern Ireland still maintains the grammar school system with most pupils being entered for the Eleven plus. Since the "open enrollment" reform of 1989, these schools (unlike those in England) have been required to accept pupils up to their capacity, which has also increased.[16]

By 2006, the 69 grammar schools took 42 percent of transferring children, and only 7 of them took all of their intake from the top 30 percent of the cohort.[17]

With the end of the eleven plus, a proposed new transfer point at age 14, with specialization of schools beyond that point, may offer a future role for grammar schools. Alternatively, a consortium of 25 grammar schools could run a common entry test for admissions, while others, such as Lumen Christi College, the top-ranking Catholic school, have plans to run their own tests.[18]

Australia

In Australia, "grammar schools" are generally high-cost Anglican Church of Australia schools, public schools in the sense of the Associated Public Schools of Victoria and the Associated Grammar Schools of Victoria. Those using the term "grammar" in their title are often the oldest Anglican school in their area. Examples of these include such schools as Camberwell Grammar School (1886), Caulfield Grammar School (1881), Geelong Grammar School (1855), and Melbourne Grammar School (1858). The equivalent of the English grammar schools are known as selective schools.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong developed its Secondary education largely based on the English schooling system, with single-sex education being widespread. Secondary schools primarily offering a traditional curriculum (instead of vocational subjects) were thus called grammar schools.

Notes

  1. ↑ The Guild School Association (2003), Educating Shakespeare. Retrieved May 15, 2008.
  2. ↑ J.H.D. Matthews, The Register of Leeds Grammar School 1820-1896 (Leeds: Laycock and Sons, 1897).
  3. ↑ T. G. K. Bryce and Walter M. Humes (eds.), Scottish Education: Post-Devolution (Edinburgh University Press, 2003, ISBN 0748609806).
  4. ↑ Peter Gordon, "Some Sources for the History of the Endowed Schools Commission, 1869-1900" British Journal of Educational Studies 14 (3).
  5. ↑ Will Spens (1938), Secondary education with special reference to grammar schools and technical high schools, HM Stationery Office, London. Retrieved May 25, 2008.
  6. ↑ J.R. Hough, The Education System in England and Wales: A Synopsis (Loughborough University Press, 1991, ISBN 0946348065).
  7. ↑ Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, The story of the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). Retrieved May 15, 2008 .
  8. ↑ Jörn-Steffen Pischke and Alan Manning, Comprehensive versus Selective Schooling in England in Wales: What Do We Know? Working Paper, April 2006.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Kate Jackson, Grammar school debate: Are Grammar Schools Better? BBC Kent. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  10. ↑ Anne-Marie Brook, Raising Education Achievement and Breaking the Cycle of Inequality in the United Kingdom, Economics Department Working Papers, 633, 2008.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Ruth Kelly, Beyond Crosland's vision, The Guardian, Wednesday March 30, 2005. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  12. ↑ BBC News, Grammar debate is a "past agenda." Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  13. ↑ UK Parlaiment Publications and Records, House of Commons Hansard, 16 July 2007: Columns 104W-107W. Retrieved May 19, 2008.
  14. ↑ David Jesson, The Comparative Evaluation of GCSE Value-Added Performance by Type of School and LEA. Retrieved March 19, 2008.
  15. ↑ Sian Griffiths, Grammars show they can compete with best, Sunday Times. Retrieved May 25, 2008.
  16. ↑ Eric Maurin and Sandra McNally, Educational Effects of Widening Access to the Academic Track: A Natural Experiment. Retrieved April 4, 2008.
  17. ↑ Caitriona Ruane, Education Minister's Statement for the Stormont Education Committee. Retrieved April 4, 2008.
  18. ↑ Lisa Smith, "Test" schools accept D grade pupils. Retrieved May 25, 2008.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Bryce, T. G. K., and Walter M. Humes (eds.). Scottish Education: Post-Devolution. Edinburgh University Press, 2003 (original 1999). ISBN 0748609806.
  • Carlisle, Nicholas. A Concise Description of the Endowed Grammar Schools in England and Wales. Thoemmes Continuum, 2002. ISBN 978-1855069565.
  • Curtis, Polly. Grammar schools fuelling social segregation, academics find. The Guardian (Friday February 1 2008). Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  • Hough, J. R. The Education System in England and Wales: A Synopsis. Loughborough University Press, 1991. ISBN 0946348065.
  • Naylor, Fred, and Roger Peach. The Truth About Grammar Schools. National Grammar Schools Association, 2005.

External links

All links retrieved July 8, 2017.

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.

Retrieved from https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Grammar_school&oldid=1097397

Content is available under Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details.
Copyright Logo
Powered by MediaWiki