28th November 2013 9:00
By Blue Tutors
The education charity the Sutton Trust has published a reported calling for the end of tutoring for 11+ entrance exams for grammar schools. Although there is no way to prevent parents from hiring tutors, the trust has advised regularly changing the exams in order to make them more difficult for tutors to help students prepare. The report raises concerns that bright but poor students are being excluded from grammar schools because their parents cannot afford to arrange for private tuition to help them with entrance exams. It also suggested that grammar schools could offer test preparation classes to all candidates, ensuring that all students have an equal opportunity.
The report showed that pupils from low income families are out-numbered four to one by wealthier peers. The majority of students attending grammar schools have previously come from fee paying prep schools, while only 2.7% of grammar school students are from families who qualify for free school meals. This compares poorly with the 20% of students overall in England who receive free school meals. The Sutton Trust attributes this in part to the fact that there is now a culture of private tuition for entrance exams, where private tutors charge a great deal to coach children for entrance exams. Private tuition is particularly in demand in areas where there are few grammar schools, and competition is fiercer.
In addition to tutoring, some parents are also spending early-on on fee-paying prep schools, in order to ensure that their children are able to enter free but selective grammar schools. Those from lower income families are unable to pay for private tutoring or fee-paying prep schools. In many cases they also have to compete with a high volume of applicants, at schools which have wide catchment areas. Many schools receive up to 12 applications for every place. The report concluded by saying that in addition to making exams more difficult to prepare for, schools should also devote more resources to outreach work to level the playing field.