Grammar schools are “not pulling their weight” teaching disadvantaged pupils, say campaigners, as new figures show they educate far fewer looked-after children and those with special educational needs than their neighbours.
Selective schools are often criticised for their low proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals.
But analysis of 2022 census data by Comprehensive Future also shows just 4.3 per cent of their pupils have SEND, compared with 15.5 per cent in non-selective schools in grammar areas.
Grammars also educate on average two looked-after or previously looked-after children each, compared with an average of 14 in non-selective schools. Sixty-eight of the 163 schools have no children in care on their rolls at all.
