State grammar schools in England are fundraising by charging up to £70 for children to take “familiarisation tests” before their entrance exams, which campaigners say allows wealthy families to “buy advantage”.
Grammar schools in the south-east were found to be raising tens of thousands of pounds each year through the mock exams, which are designed to coach children taking the 11-plus exam needed to win a place at the sought-after selective schools.
The investigation by the anti-selective school group Comprehensive Future and Schools Week revealed that schools were using the funds to help pay for drama studios, laptops and sports facilities such as cricket nets.
While some of the schools said they offered free places to children eligible for free school meals, others said they only subsidised “limited” numbers. One offered just 5% of its test places free to children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Grammar schools in England admit few children eligible for free school meals, with children from wealthier backgrounds able to benefit from coaching and private tutors.
Nuala Burgess, the chair of Comprehensive Future, said the fundraising was making money out of parents’ anxiety. “The selling of mock 11-plus tests is nothing short of a money-spinning racket. It offers the well-heeled yet another way to buy advantage and ensures that the poor and disadvantaged are kept out of grammar schools,” Burgess said.
In some cases, the paid-for tests were administered by a private company, which then donated money to the grammar schools’ parent fundraising groups.
A company linked to Sutton grammar school’s parent-teacher association (PTA) in Surrey offers the mock exams for £60 in person or £40 online. The school said places were subsidised for children on free school meals and for pupils in its outreach programme for local primary schools.
Accounts show that the company, SGSPTA Ltd, gifted the school’s PTA more than £153,000 in 2021-22.
Wallington County grammar school in Surrey offers mock exams through its parents’ group for £45. Jamie Bean, the school’s headteacher, said the tests helped “pupils familiarise themselves with school entrance tests, and free places are provided for those from disadvantaged backgrounds”.
The parents’ group at Wilson’s school in Wallington charged £50 for two-and-a-half-hour sessions run by parent volunteers, including mock exams in English and maths, and generated almost £53,000 in 2022-23.
The parents’ group at Townley grammar school in Bexley began offering the tests prepared by a private company for £70, using the “same procedure and instructions” as the school’s entrance exams.
The school said free places were available to children receiving the pupil premium, a government grant for disadvantaged children.
A spokesperson for the school said the group’s “decision to offer familiarisation tests was driven by a desire to support social mobility and raise funds for additional support programmes, particularly benefiting disadvantaged students”.
Peter Read, a former Kent grammar school headteacher, said he was “appalled” to hear of charging for the tests. “This is a way schools are making money out of parents who want to be considered,” he told Schools Week.
