Direct grant grammar school
One quarter of the places in these schools were directly funded by central government, while the remainder attracted fees, some paid by a Local Education Authority and some by the pupils' parents or guardians.
The status was introduced in England and Wales by the Education Act 1944 as a modification of an existing direct grant scheme to some long standing endowed grammar schools.
In the 19th century, few boys and very few girls in England and Wales received secondary education, which was typically available only from charity, endowed or private schools.
[5] In the latter part of the century, many of the less wealthy schools received annual grants from the Department of Science and Art and from their county councils.
[7] Secondary schools controlled by voluntary bodies could receive a grant from either the Board of Education or their local authority, or both.
In return they were required to meet the Board's regulations, and were subject to the same system of inspections as state-funded schools.
At the same time, the state-funded sector had grown to the point where universal secondary education seemed achievable, and changes in society had made the idea more popular.
[16] The remaining ("residuary") places would attract fees, but no child would be admitted unless they had achieved the required standard in the eleven plus.
[a] Many of the schools were in the north of England, with 46 in the historic county of Lancashire (including Manchester) and 18 in the West Riding of Yorkshire, while there were only 7 in inner London and 4 in Wales.
[34] On average, three-quarters of pupils came from white-collar homes, including 60% with fathers in management or the professions, while only 7% were children of semi-skilled or unskilled workers.
[36] Their results were correspondingly high, with 60% of their pupils staying on to age 18 and 38% going on to university, significantly greater proportions than either of the other groups of schools.
[27] Their fees were about 15% lower than other direct grant grammars, and they tended to take a much higher proportion of LEA-funded pupils.
[47] They also tended to be more socially mixed, with 37% of their pupils from managerial and professional homes and 16% children of semi-skilled or unskilled workers.
[49] Lacking endowments and having lower fee income, they were less financially secure than other direct grant grammars.
[51] During the post-War period, many parts of the world moved from selective education to comprehensive schools catering for children of all abilities.
[52] In 1964, a Labour government was elected promising "to reorganise the State secondary schools on comprehensive lines".
[54] The Circular also requested consultation between LEAs and direct grant schools on their participation in a comprehensive system.
[56] The commission, now chaired by David Donnison, issued its second report in 1970, concluding that "Grammar schools of the traditional kind cannot be combined with a comprehensive system of education: we must choose what we want.
"[57] They recommended that the schools choose between becoming voluntary aided comprehensives and full independence, but the Conservatives came to power before any action had been taken.
[61] A respite was provided in the early 1970s, when Margaret Thatcher, the Conservative Education Secretary, raised the level of grant, which had been lowered by the Labour government.
[27] Of the 174 remaining direct grant grammar schools,[63] 51 (two Church of England and the rest Catholic) applied to join the state sector, of which 46 were accepted.
[65] One school, St. Joseph's College, Stoke-on-Trent, was approved to join the state system, but became independent instead following a campaign by parents.
[69] An echo of the direct grant, the Assisted Places scheme, was introduced by the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher in 1981, lasting until 1997.
