More grammars mean more diversity, Mr Lammy

David Lammy, Labour MP for Tottenham, returned this week to his feud with the University of Oxford. He told the Financial Times that the upper classes have a “vice-like grip on admissions”, the university lets in insufficient black students, and it’s “time for alumni to vote with their chequebooks” and demand to know how many students from disadvantaged backgrounds the college took in before making a donation.

Lammy also cites American Ivy League colleges that offer bursaries to “the most talented students, regardless of background”. What he doesn’t mention is that Ivy League alumni are such generous donors because they can pretty much guarantee their own kids will be admitted as “legacy” candidates. The system is mind-bogglingly corrupt to British eyes, but at least those places not bagged by dim preps called Bush are filled by the gifted and underprivileged.

One thing guaranteed to increase the number of ethnic minority students at Oxford is more grammar schools. Look at the huge number of black and Asian students studying with success at Townley Grammar in Bexley, which featured in a new BBC Two series, Grammar Schools: Who Will Get In?

Labour MPS dislike grammars because they claim they’re divisive. Too bad. The only way to train a bright poor child to compete with a rich less-bright child is to isolate them from disruptive peers and immerse them in an environment where being brainy is celebrated. Immigrant parents, who are far less wet than the liberal middle-classes, understand this very well, and will work all the hours God sends to help their child get into a selective school.

More grammar schools (the greatest engine of social mobility this country has ever devised) equals more diversity at Oxford, Mr Lammy.