The former chancellor, who attended one of Britain’s most expensive public schools, used his opening speech at the debate in Leeds to say he would create, “a Britain where the birthright of every child is a worldclass education”.
Asked by the presenter Nick Ferrari to give a yes/no answer to the question of whether he would bring back grammar schools, he said: “Yes.”
“I believe in educational excellence, I believe education is the most powerful way that we can transform people’s lives. But I also think there’s lots we can do with the school system as we have it,” he added .
Grammar schools were phased out in most parts of the country from the 1960s in favour of the comprehensive system, amid concerns that they entrenched inequality.
When Truss was challenged by an audience member about the impact of Covid on the schools system, she said : “ We should not have closed our schools, and I think it has caused a great deal of damage to our children.”
This story is from the July 29, 2022 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the July 29, 2022 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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