Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the difference between a grammar school and a foundation or voluntary school, funded by the local authority, which also selects their pupils by academic ability.

Grammar schools are the only state-funded schools permitted to select all their children by high general academic ability. There are 163 grammar schools, all of which were maintained schools in 1998 and designated as grammar schools by the Education (Grammar School Designation) Order 1998 (as amended in 1999).

143 of these schools have subsequently become academy schools and are permitted to continue to select by academic ability through provisions within the Academies Act 2010 and their funding agreements.

Of the 20 maintained grammar schools, 7 are community schools, 6 are voluntary aided schools, 6 are foundation schools and 1 is a voluntary controlled school.

In addition, a number of state-funded schools were permitted to retain partial selection by academic ability or aptitude by provisions within the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. 40 of these schools remain partially selective.

32 of them are academies and are permitted to continue to select through the aforementioned legal and funding agreement mechanisms. 8 are maintained schools, and of these 4 are foundation schools, 3 are voluntary aided schools and 1 is a community school. 31 of these partially selective schools select a proportion of their intakes by general academic ability, 2 select by ability in music, 1 by ability in technology, and 1 by ability in maths. The remaining 5 select a proportion of their intakes by aptitude[1].

[1] Either a form of aptitude that would not otherwise be permitted or more than 10% by aptitude.