Kirsty Williams rules out grammar schools in Wales as a “terrible idea”

Kirsty Williams, these days the one Liberal Democrat minister in a government, has ruled out grammar schools – that favourite Conservative controversy – making a come back in Wales:

Kirsty Williams … said: “It seems that some terrible ideas just won’t go away.

“The Tories in England and Wales seem determined to bang this tired old drum. For them, this is all about dogma and doctrine, rather than looking at what actually works for our young people.

“The facts show that grammar schools do nothing to improve social mobility. The Sutton Trust found that less than 3% of grammar school pupils were on free school lunches, compared with 20% across the country.

“The Welsh Liberal Democrats believe in opportunity for all, which is why under no circumstances will Wales be seeing an expansion of grammar schools.

“As Education Secretary, I will be guided by evidence so that we have a schools system that is modern, innovative and rooted in optimism about the potential of all our children.” [Wales Online]

Here’s a sample of the evidence that grammar schools are bad for social mobility and benefit the more affluent rather than the most talented.