www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=455169&in_page_id=1770Cameron faces furious revolt over ditching support for grammar school
Last updated at 18:41pm on 16th May 2007
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Tory leader David Cameron is facing a furious backlash from MPs after his party championed the benefits of city academies over grammar schools.
MPs and Conservative supporters were infuriated by shadow education secretary David Willetts speech to the CBI stressing that his party had to "break free from the belief that academic selection is any longer the way to transform the chances of bright poor kids".
Mr Willetts backed Tony Blair’s flagship city academies as key to helping children from poorer backgrounds.
The revolt comes as Mr Cameron spent two days as a teaching assistant in a comprehensive school.
The Tory leader travelled to Humberside to find out for himself the problems facing teachers in secondary schools by taking part in lessons.
He kept his visit secret but took a cameraman to record his experiences on his website, WebCameron.
Mr Cameron answered questions from a classroom about politics. Unfortunately when asked how many MPs there were in the House of Parliaments he said 650. There are actually 646. Still at least he knew the Liberal Democrats colour was yellow.
The extent of the grammar schools backlash was brought home when Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, standing in for Tony Blair at Prime Minister’s Questions, taunted Tory MPs in the Commons by urging them to put up their hands if they supported the new Conservative education policy.
Significantly few did.
In his speech to the CBI, Willetts had argued that a return to grammar schools would widen the gap between rich and poor.
His firm line reinforced the decisive shift away from support for grammar schools mapped out by Cameron more than a year ago.
He rejected the long-held Tory view that academic selection is the best way to raise standards in schools.
And he announced that the Tories would do more to develop Tony Blair's city academy programme than Gordon Brown.
"We must break free from the belief that academic selection is any longer the way to transform the life chances of bright poor kids.
"This is a widespread belief but we just have to recognise that there is overwhelming evidence that such academic selection entrenches advantage, it does not spread it."
He continued: "A Conservative agenda for education will not be about just helping a minority of pupils escape a bad education.
"We want better schools for all, based on fair admission and fair funding.
"That is why we are outlining a series of specific measures for driving up standards and expanding the academies programme begun by Tony Blair."
Left wing Labour MPs and teachers' unions have taken the opportunity of Blair's departure from No 10 to urge Mr Brown to dump city academies.
His backing was guarded yesterday. Speaking on the BBC yesterday he said it was "right" that wealthy individuals "put something back into the community".
At the same time Education Secretary Alan Johnson made it clear the Government would "limit" the number of academies to 400.
Mr Willetts, by contrast, promised to open more if the Tories return to power.
He said Mr Blair's academy model of privately sponsored independent state schools was "a powerful route to higher standards".
He explained: "And as part of his legacy he now leaves behind him legislation which we can use to push his academies much further forward than Gordon Brown would ever dare to do.
"However, the Conservative Party has had to change too."
In exchange for up to £2 million in sponsorship, private backers from business or faith groups can set up an an academy, including setting the school's ethos and appointing governors.
The Government pays for the school's running costs and the rest of the expense of opening new buildings - typically about £25 million.
Last autumn Mr Cameron told Tory activists that the party's refusal to dump traditional policies associated with Lady Thatcher such as grammar schools was to blame for their defeat.
Arguing that the party needed to move to the "centre-ground of British politics", he said: "While parents worried about childcare, getting the kids to school, balancing work and family life, we were banging on about Europe.
"As they worried about standards in thousands of secondary schools, we obsessed about a handful more grammar schools.
The Government has resisted Tony Blair's pledge to let parents decide the future of England's 164 remaining grammar schools.
Grammar schools can only be abolished if the majority of parents agree in a ballot.
Despite Government pressure, there has been only one ballot. Parents voted by two to one against scrapping the 11-plus at Ripon Grammar School in North Yorkshire in 2000.
