Letters: Selective education by the back door

With the knowledge of the Department for Education and almost certainly its connivance, there is now a concerted attempt to get around the ban on the establishment of new grammar schools in place since 1998 – and to expand selective education. Two grammar schools in Kent are proposing to establish "satellite schools" on new sites (Report, 30 March). If successful, no doubt attempts will be made to replicate this move in other parts of the country, leading to a lowering of educational standards for the majority of children, many from poorer families. Who knows, some entrepreneurial grammar schools might even establish satellites in previously non-selective local authorities. Labour and Lib Dem MPs, as well as those Conservative MPs genuinely interested in promoting social mobility, need to raise the matter. The expansion of selective education in England by indirect means is too important an issue not to be debated in parliament.
Professor Colin Richards
Spark Bridge, Cumbria