Great Stone Road Secondary Modern School c.1969. Image: Dave Croker
Grammar schools are part of a Great British story. In World War II, the people had proven themselves heroes, on the battlefield and the home front, from the Admirals to the squaddies to the land girls; against the odds, against the evil of fascism. After the war, we built a land fit for heroes; where people would get the healthcare, housing, jobs and education they deserved. Grammar schools would allow talented, hard-working kids to get the best education, whatever their family circumstances; they allowed Brits to be like Britain: a heroic underdog who comes out on top.
And sure enough, as the number of grammar schools expanded, the number of working class kids who went on to get respectable white-collar jobs increased, and when the grammar schools were phased out, that upward mobility ground to a halt.
