New grammar school test 'won't stop tutoring gap'

Changes to grammar school entry tests in Gloucestershire are unlikely to stop children receiving private tutoring, parents say.

From 2027, the seven grammar schools in Gloucestershire will move to a "more accessible" testing system, which will be closer to the national curriculum to discourage intensive preparation.

Parents told the BBC they welcome the changes, but some still feel pressure to tutor because the tests are so competitive.

"I feel guilty that we are giving my daughter an advantage over other people because we're paying for her to be tutored," said Beth Fordham, from the Forest of Dean.

"But at the same time, so many people do it, if we didn't we'd be putting her at a disadvantage."

Fordham, whose daughter will sit the current test after 18 months of tutoring, describes it as a "moral dilemma".

Lisa Armstrong, from Gloucester, whose daughter will sit the new test next year, said the changes are "a step in the right direction" - but fairness remains an issue.

"It's still not a level playing field," she said, adding many parents of her daughter's classmates have already signed up for tutoring.

"I think we probably will still tutor because everyone else is and you have to try and level that playing field for your own child."

She said limiting the impact of tutoring was a "noble" aim, but added: "How you do that is beyond me, really."

The new test will remove non-verbal reasoning questions which typically feature in private tutoring, and instead encourage "natural curiosity and critical thinking", the provider said.

Moving the exam from September of Year 6 to the summer of Year 5 is also intended to stop kids who aren't being tutored from falling behind.

Jenny Purshouse, who has two daughters already at grammar school and a third due to take the new test, supports the changes in principle.

But she says tutoring, whether private or at home, is still hard to avoid.

"If you want your child to go to a grammar school you have to prepare at home, either with a tutor or by yourself, and that's not fair because not everyone can do it," she says.

"I do feel sad because there are a lot of very clever children whose parents can't support them at home and I don't think that they will all get through the test when it's changed."

She said wider factors, including differences between primary schools and competition from outside the county, could limit the impact of the reforms.

"I think it's a good aim, but I feel that successive governments have underfunded education for decades now and schools have so much to contend with."

She also backs the timeline change, which will allow children to relax over the summer.

Not all parents believe paid tutoring is essential.

Rebecca Brown, from Staverton, whose son is already at grammar school and whose daughter is sitting the new test next year, believes tutoring isn't a requirement.

Instead, she paid a small subscription fee to allow her son to do independent work.

"They will have to carry themselves through grammar school if they get in, so we wanted to see if they could do it on their own," she said.

"It's really expensive and we know parents who paid for tutoring for years and then their children didn't get in."

Parents also consistently raised concerns about competition for places from outside Gloucestershire.

Armstrong says schools opening up to kids from outside the county is "restricting local kids being able to go to local schools".

Purshouse says some schools organise buses from Bristol or Swindon but not the Forest of Dean.

However, she added that the long-term solution lies elsewhere.

"I think in the short term, Gloucestershire should limit the places to children from Gloucestershire schools," she said.

But she adds the longer term solution is bringing all state secondary schools up to scratch.

"If all children would be getting a world class education, there wouldn't be a need for grammar schools or private schools."

Further details of the new test are due to be announced in September.

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