Nursery World - Calls for 'highly selective' primary schools to change ways

Campaigners are calling for fairer admissions procedures after research revealed more than 1,500 primary schools in England are 'highly selective' and could be harming life chances of disadvantaged children.

The ten per cent most selective schools do not accurately reflect their neighbourhood demographic, according to the social mobility think-tank the Sutton Trust, which has published a report called Caught Out, days ahead of National Primary Offer Day.

Poorer families are left with a more limited choice of school because of intake criteria that favours better- off families through a preference for those who follow a religion, the report claims.

The research also reveals the local authority areas with the highest proportion of such schools include Blackpool, Westminster, and Hammersmith and Fulham.

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