Special Reports

Grammar Schools: David Willetts On Reshaping Education System For Social Mobility

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According to the Conservative former minister, David Willetts, schools should try and endeavor to improve their system. They should go beyond "not simply by selecting the kids who are going to do best."

Willetts explain that much of the social mobility improvement back in the 1950s and 1960s was "down to increasing numbers of white collar jobs" and not grammar schools. David Willets discusses that the entire education system needs an overhaul.

The education system when it comes to academic selection should be reshaped. If everyone wants a better social mobility result, then they should not, according to The Guardian, not focus on academic selection with a narrow perspective. The Conservative former minister signals the government's plans for new grammar schools.

The government, under Education Secretary Justine Greening's lead, is planning to release information regarding a new breed of grammar schools. Not only that, this initiative aims to include private school's attendance in the community as well.

But David Willetts shakes his head regarding this move. He was vocal in saying that the plan to remove a ban on new grammar schools in England does not solve social mobility. He says that there should be a proper and "coherent response" in the case of the education system.

He writes in the Guardian, stating that a social mobility strategy should include all stages of education. "It has to include competitive pressures on schools to improve their performance - and not simply by selecting the kids who are going to do best," says Lord Willetts.

He also points out school standards have widened and this is shocking when it comes to the basis of a good and steady employment for graduates. Now parents are thinking that it is important to send their kids to prestigious universities which should not be the case. There are other colleges and schools out there that can give them a future too.

Want to know more about David Willetts? The University of Leicester has conferred the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws upon Rt Hon Lord David Willetts. Watch the video below:

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