What Mrs May’s plans mean for our schools

We take a closer look at the government’s latest shakeup of the education system

COULD NEW grammar schools have an impact on Jewish schools? Theresa May’s plan to lift the ban on opening academically selective state schools is her boldest proposal since becoming Prime Minister. However, she could face an uphill battle, since the government has only a small majority and some Conservatives are distinctly sceptical about the grammar schools plan.

But if there is a new generation of these schools, they could draw pupils away from Jewish schools.

The much-trumpeted academic record of Jewish schools is one rea- son for their increased popularity in recent years and they have been a fall-back for parents who could not afford the best private education. So new grammars could pose fresh competition for the Jewish sector among parents who prize secular education above all. Could we see a Jewish grammar school? Under the proposals, an existing state school will be able to turn selective, so in theory there is nothing to stop a Jewish grammar. However, it won’t be easy and the idea of a doubly selective school — choosing pupils both on faith and academic ability — would prove even more of a red rag to Mrs May’s opponents.

The consultation paper on the changes says that selective schools should be “representative of their local communities” and this may well rule out faith-based grammars. What difference will changes to the entry policies of Jewish free schools make? Under the old system, state-aided Jewish schools such as JFS and Hasmonean could select all their pupils according to a Jewish practice test.

However, the newer faith-based free schools were only allowed to choose half their pupils according to religion. The restriction was supposed to encourage social cohesion and partly pacify those who believe faith schools increase segregation.

In practice, the vast majority of pupils attending a free school that is Jewish, Hindu, Muslim or Sikh, actually comes from the school’s designated faith. (Jewish free schools are the most ethnically uniform with 84 per cent of their pupils characterised as “white”.)

The 50 per cent faith cap on admissions doesn’t seem to have worked, so now the government simply wants to abolish it. The Catholic Church in particular lobbied hard against the 50 per cent rule, as did Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis.

The strictly Orthodox community would also welcome the removal of entry conditions which deterred