I have mixed feelings about the government's proposal to encourage the creation of new grammar schools
I think I benefited immensely from attending a Grammar School but there were quite a few boys there who gained little from the opportunity.
When I taught in a College of Further Education, I came across a fair number of good students who came to us from Secondary Modern schools.
I have doubts about the selection procedure. That seemed to be directed at selecting what were thought of as the cleverest children, with heavy reliance on intelligence tests. Being at least moderately clever is useful for anyone pursuing the sort of academic education grammar schools provide, but it is also important to be studious, attentive and conscientious. I can't think of an easy way to take such factors into account, but I think we need to think carefully before setting up a lot of new schools. The experience of Independent schools could be helpful, many of them use entrance tests without provoking great controversy.
We should also consider how much any schools are needed, now that so much information is available through the Internet. Younger children need supervision, and all pupils will need access to labs and workshops, but herding all under 16's together 5 days per week may no longer be necessary. Hard thought is needed and it would be a mistake to try to recreate the state of affairs that prevailed 50 years ago without considering alternatives.
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Like you, I was at a grammar school. There was a secondary modern which ran in parallel, but I met some very bright and interesting children from the sec. mod. who were denied the opportunity to study a more academic curriculum. They felt ashamed and excluded - and no wonder.
My grammar school provided me with a good education, but I do wonder about the children who didn't have the same opportunities. I don't believe that children should be divided into sheep and goats on the basis of a dubious IQ test.
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