GRAMMAR schools in Kent and Medway are not doing as well as they should and in some cases are seriously under-performing, according to a new academic study. The study was commissioned by the Kent Labour MP Dr Steve Ladyman and conducted by Prof David Jesson, a well-known educational researcher and government advisor.

Prof Jesson concluded there was clear evidence a high proportion of the 39 grammar schools in both authorities were not performing well when compared to selective schools in other authorities. He also found many were performing “well below the levels that might be expected” and the differences in standards between Kent and the rest of the country showed “a marked and pervasive degree of under-performance.”

In a further damaging conclusion, the study says the selective system in the two authorities reinforces divisions between schools and their communities. Prof Jesson used official Government data and an Ofsted based rating system to compare the performance of grammars schools in Kent and Medway with the country’s other grammars.

This showed that only four of the 39 grammars in Kent had GCSE results evaluated as A or A* - the top category – when it would be expected to have ten, based on the intake of pupils. At the same time, 17 schools fell into the poorest category of E or E*, when Kent would be expected to have no more than ten.

Normally, schools with this ranking would be among those regarded by Ofsted as potentially having serious weaknesses. Professor Jesson concluded: “This account does not deny there are some good results but it shows a marked and pervasive degree of under-performance in the grammar schools of Kent and Medway compared to other grammar schools elsewhere.”

The study also pointed to evidence that selection created divisions and led to polarisation between schools. An analysis based on GCSE passes at grades A* to C showed that while more schools in Kent and Medway obtained “high” results (a pass rate above 60 per cent), this was matched by more schools obtaining “low” results (below 30 per cent).

Professor Jesson said these differences were “substantially more marked” than other selective authorities and reflected “polarisation in practice.”

Dr Ladyman challenged the Government to act and accused it of allowing pupils to locked into a Victorian system which was failing: “Estelle Morris has courageously attacked failing secondary schools in comprehensive counties. Will she be as courageous in attacking the failing selective system in Kent and Medway?”

In a statement, KCC education director Graham Badman said it would consider the report closely: “Comparing Kent with the ten other local authorities identified by the Audit Commission as those most like Kent, average point scores for 2001 placed Kent third in A level results and fourth on GCSE scores.”

The DfES said in a statement: “This Government does not support academic selection at 11 but it is up to local parents to decide the future of selective admissions at existing grammar schools though the ballot system. Professor Jesson’s report will provide food for thought for Kent parents.”