Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have for grammar schools to change their admissions procedures to increase the uptake of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The Government is committed to closing the attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their peers. Grammar schools and the highest performing non-selective schools currently have some of the lowest representations of children eligible for free school meals in England. We want to encourage all high performing schools, including grammar schools to do more to attract and support disadvantaged children.

The Department for Education is working with the Grammar Schools Heads Association to develop a programme to:

a. support those grammar schools that are academies and that are considering giving admissions priority to pupils eligible for free school meals;

b. introduce entrance tests that more accurately measure a child's potential and thus avoid the need for prior coaching; and

c. work with local primary schools to raise standards for deprived children and increase parental engagement.