“This is sugar-rush policymaking. It grabs a headline but has no real substance.” Such was the verdict of one leading figure in the world of education to the policy promises on schools and universities from the two candidates in the Conservative leadership race.
Education may not have been a key battleground in the campaign so far, but a number of eye-catching themes have already emerged. First, grammar schools. Both Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak would like to see more of them. Is it feasible? Will it happen, and what would the impact be?
Currently, it is illegal to open new grammar schools, thanks to a Labour ban, which has been in place since 1998. The selective system was phased out in most parts of the country from the 1960s amid concerns that it entrenched inequality and those concerns persist.
