Grammar school

A grammar school has two distinct meanings: an elementary school or a secondary school, especially in England, in which college preparatory subjects, such as Latin and Greek, are emphasized.

Origins

The original intent of the medieval grammar schools was to educate the young in the grammar of Latin. Later the curriculum was considerably broadened to include other languages, such as Greek, Hebrew, English and European languages, as well as the natural sciences, mathematics, history, geography and other subjects.

Australia

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.

Canada

In Ontario, until 1870, a grammar school referred to a secondary school.

Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, secondary schools primarily offering a traditional curriculum (instead of vocational subjects) are grammar schools.

Republic of Ireland

Education in the Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland, has been mainly organised on denominational 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, Drogheda (run by Quakers since 1956), Dundalk and Sligo. 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.

United Kingdom

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 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 schools. The system became 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 schools. 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.

United States

In the United States, the term has often been used as a synonym for elementary school, although this usage is somewhat in decline.

See also

• Debates on the grammar school
• Secondary education
• List of topics related to the United Kingdom#Education

A Grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in Britain. 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 famous grammar schools were those of the Tripartite System, also known colloquially as the grammar-school system.

Early Grammar Schools

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’. The first such schools appeared in 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 schools 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.

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 Founders Day services and ceremonies at surviving schools. Edward VI also made an important contribution to grammar schools, founding a series of schools during his reign. In spite of these donations, the schools relied on fees paid by the students.

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. [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 in part to a shortage of non-latin type and of teachers fluent in the language.

Victorian Grammar Schools

The revolution in civic government that took place in the late 19th century created a new breed of grammar schools. After the 1869 Endowed Schools Act 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 and Wales 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.

Grammar Schools in the Tripartite System

See main article on the Tripartite System for more information, or that on debates on the grammar school for discussions of arguments about its merits

The 1944 Butler Education Act created the first nationwide system of secondary education in England and Wales. 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.

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, with gowned teachers and cane-wielding prefects. In addition, they sought to replicate the studious, aspirational atmosphere found in such establishments.

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, whose headmaster, Lord James of Rusholme, was one of the most outspoken advocates of the Tripartite System.

Pupils were given the best opportunities of any schoolchildren. They studied for the General Certificate of Education examination at the Ordinary Level (known as O-level, which existed before the introduction of the Certificate of Secondary Education (known as the CSE), and considered to be more valuable. Their 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 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.

Grammar schools were largely abolished between 1965, with the issue of Circular 10/65, and the 1976 Education Act. Most were amalgamated with a number of other local schools, to form neighbourhood comprehensive schools. Some counties resisted the change, and 164 old-style state-run grammar schools exist today. A list of the areas where this applies is provided below. Direct Grant Grammar schools almost invariably severed their ties with the state sector, and became fully independent.

Modern Grammar Schools

While many former grammar schools ceased to be selective, some of them retained the word ‘grammar’ in their name. Following the 1979 Education Act, selection on ability was once more allowed in choosing pupils for state schools. Since then, this option has gradually become more widely utilised. As a result, in much of Britain a grammar school is one with a strong academic reputation and able to select up to 10% of its intake. Grammar schools often perform well in league tables, and there is a high level of competition for places.

Since the election of the Labour government in 1997, there has been a gradual shift towards support for selection. Before the election, David Blunkett promised that there would be no selection under a Labour government. Once in office, local communities were given the right to ballot for an end to selection at schools. To date few ballots have been held, none of them achieving a majority for abolition. This measure has been attacked by the Select Committee for Education and Skills as being deliberately weak and intended to protect grammar schools from change.

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. 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.[2] In most assessments, grammar schools stand at the apex of any such structure. Grammar Schools get 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. ^{[citation needed]}

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland still maintains the grammar school system with most pupils being entered for the eleven Plus. There have however been moves to try and introduce a comprehensive system (as in England) by the direct rule administration. This is a matter of controversy with many politicians, particularly unionists, keen to preserve the grammar schools as they are with academic selection at the age of 11.

Surviving Grammar Schools

164 state run grammar schools exist, spread between the following LEAs:

• Birmingham
• Bournemouth
• Bristol
• Buckinghamshire
• Calderdale
• Cumbria
• Devon
• Essex
• Gloucestershire
• Guernsey
• Kent
• Kirklees
• Lancashire
• Lincolnshire
• Liverpool
• London
  • London Borough of Barnet
  • London Borough of Bexley
  • London Borough of Bromley
  • London Borough of Enfield
  • Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
  • London Borough of Sutton
  • London Borough of Redbridge
• Medway
• North Yorkshire
• Northern Ireland (due to be phased out in 2008)
• Plymouth
• Poole
• Reading
• Slough
• Stoke-on-Trent
• Southend-on-Sea
• Surrey
• Telford and Wrekin
• Torbay
• Trafford
• Walsall
• Warwickshire
• Wiltshire
• Wirral
• Wolverhampton

Only some of these areas keep a formal grammar school system along the lines of the tripartite system. In others, they survive mainly as very highly selective schools in an otherwise comprehensive county: whereas in the tripartite system some 25% of 11 year olds had access to the Grammar schools, now it may be as low as 2% in some LEA areas.

See also

• Secondary Education
• Tripartite System
• Butler Education Act
• Eleven Plus
• Comprehensive School
• Comprehensive System
• Magnet school
• List of schools in the United Kingdom

External links

• A general timeline of British education
• Links on Elizabethan education
• The situation of grammar schools today
• National Grammar Schools Association
• Support Kent Schools
• An article on advanced schools and other advanced sections of the English secondary system.
• Commentary by The Guardian about grammar schools today

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:

• Grammar_school  ^history
• Grammar_schools_in_the_United_Kingdom  ^history

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

• History of "Grammar school"

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