Once the pupil intake of grammar schools is taken into account based on factors such as chronic poverty, ethnicity, home language, special educational needs, and age in the year group, the Durham University analysis shows that grammar schools are no more or less effective than other schools.
The study also showed that pupils attending grammar schools, on average, are far less likely to have special educational needs and are less likely to have English as an additional language.
Once these differences are accounted for, grammar school pupils attain about the same as equivalent pupils in the rest of the country.
The research not only looked at the social backgrounds of grammar pupils, but also:
- rates of chronic poverty
- ethnicity
- home language
- special educational needs
- age in the year group
The findings suggest England’s grammars take only a tiny proportion of pupils who are, or have been, eligible for free school meals.
This is important, say the researchers, because such pupils’ results tend to decline with every year they are on free meals.