Why White Children Are Not Getting Into Grammar Schools
11th February 2026
To say that grammar schools are competitive would be a gross understatement: with more than 30 candidates for each place at some schools, getting a place for your child now requires military-style levels of strategy and ruthlessness.
There are stories of children as young as six being privately tutored for the 11+ exams, and families applying for schools hundreds of miles away (some as far away as China). The average house price in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, which is in the catchment area of several outstanding grammar schools, now exceeds £1.1m.
Grammar schools are no longer just about serving local talent; they are a national – and increasingly international – race for an elite educational opportunity. One that is, crucially, free.
Free because they are paid for by the taxpayers. Yet another thing that in America would be private but in Britain is controlled by the government.
Many have been quick to blame the under-representation of white children in grammar schools on anti-white discrimination, but the idea that entrance is awarded on the basis of some sort of ethnic favouritism is nonsense.
Firstly, grammar schools are often located in quite demographically diverse areas. Secondly, students sit the same test regardless of background. For most schools, there is no pass threshold, so places are simply allocated in descending order of exam mark (although around two thirds of grammar schools have policies prioritising candidates from disadvantaged homes or on free school meals).
Apparently, these people don’t even read what they write, or are so steeped in cognitive dissonance that obvious inconsistencies don’t even register.