Dartford MP Gareth Johnson has welcomed reports that Prime Minister Theresa May is planning to give the go-ahead to a new generation of grammar schools.

According to yesterday's Sunday Telegraph, Mrs May sees the re-introduction of selective schooling “as a key part of her social cohesion agenda”.

Last month Mr Johnson urged the government to scrap the School Standards and Framework Act, which was passed by Tony Blair in 1998 to prohibit any new grammars from being built.

Responding to the Telegraph’s report, Mr Johnson said Mrs May’s stance would help to provide “a diverse system that caters for academically minded children”.

He said: “I hope this will lead to more grammar schools. We must though ensure all schools are successful. We will only achieve this when we recognise that children have different strengths.

“Some excel in a vocational environment and others in an academic one. Children are not the same and so we should never aim for a one size fits all system.

“Grammar schools have a vital role to play in providing a diverse system that caters for academically minded children."

Mr Johnson is a former pupil of Dartford Grammar School, which in January was outstripping some of Britain’s most expensive private schools with more offers of placements from Cambridge and Oxford.

Last month, Dartford Grammar School for Girls received an ‘outstanding’ report from Ofsted, as did Wilmington Grammar School for Girls last November.

Wilmington Grammar School for Boys ranked among the best in the country for GCSE results last year, with 96% of pupils getting five or more acceptable GCSEs.

Mr Johnson continued: “In Dartford we have excellent selective and non-selective schools, which helps to show that grammar schools do not hold back other schools in the local area.

“Grammar schools have a vital role to play in providing a diverse system that caters for academically minded children" Gareth Johnson

“It is disappointing that the Labour Party is so unsupportive of grammar schools. We need new schools in Dartford to match the increase in population and I personally would like to see a new selective and non-selective school in the area.

“Dartford has one of the best schooling provision in the country and grammar schools play an important role in that success.”

The Sunday Telegraph’s report comes after education secretary Justine Greening admitted that she was open to the idea of allowing new grammar schools.

Her predecessor, Nicky Morgan, gave the go-ahead to a new grammar school annexe in Sevenoaks last year.

An official announcement on the move has been mooted for the Conservatives’ annual party conference in October.