There will be no new grammar schools under a Conservative government - at least according to the party’s manifesto which omits any reference to lifting the existing ban.

The manifesto, launched yesterday, does spell out plans for a cash injection into schools, something that was heavily trailed and states that a future Conservative government would support more free schools.

But the manifesto steers clear of any reference to permitting selection, saying only: “We will continue to ensure that parents can choose the schools that best suit their children and best prepare them for the future.”

The absence of any commitment to lift the current ban on new grammars is likely to disappoint some Conservatives but the party leadership may have considered it potentially divisive.

Theresa May had set out plans for new grammars when she became leader but was forced to drop the idea after it became clear that any bid to change legislation would be opposed by the House of Lords.

Kent County Council recently disclosed that it is backing a plan by Tunbridge Wells Boys Grammar School for a new annex - sometimes referred to as a ‘satellite’- to be built in Sevenoaks.

The plan is connected to what county education chiefs say is a significant shortage of selective school places for boys in and around Sevenoaks.

However, the bid involves an annex some 15 miles away from Tunbridge Wells and opponents to selection say that it amounts to a new school.

If agreed, the satellite site would open in 2021 with three forms of 30 pupils in Year 7. It would eventually grow to a school of 630 pupils. The existing school has more than 1,200 pupils.

Elsewhere in the notably brief manifesto Boris Johnson's party promised £2 billion to fix potholes and 50,000 new nurses.

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