As a former grammar school headteacher and now chief executive officer of a mixed-model multi-academy trust (MAT) of both selective and non-selective schools, I consider it essential that grammar schools operate as a core part of the national education system.

They need to demonstrate they are a force for social and public good, distinct but not distant from their colleagues, working with other schools for mutual benefit and for the good of all pupils. Therefore, I strongly disagree with the concerns expressed by some grammar-school headteachers and reported in Tes last week that selective schools could, or should, form closed-shop grammar-only MATs as a way of circumventing the Schools White Paper’s stated desire for all schools to join trusts in the years ahead.

Instead, this should be seen as an opportunity for grammar schools to show they can be part of the structural solution to improving education for all by joining existing MATs and supporting and collaborating with other types of school within our system.

The Grammar School Heads Association (GSHA) itself acknowledges the leading role that some grammar schools have played in the teaching school framework, contributing to sector-wide school improvement. Being part of a family of different types of schools within a MAT is simply an extension of this role of grammar schools in our education system. This is very much the ethos at the Thinking Schools Academy Trust, of which I am CEO, where we have three grammar schools among our 18 primary and secondary schools along the south coast.

Each of these grammar schools has maintained its unique ethos and its admissions policy, and yet is also working closely with our other schools to share best practice, pedagogical practice, curriculum knowledge and staffing capacity and skill for the good of all pupils across the trust.

The benefits of mixed-model MATs

A good example of this in action can be seen at The Victory Academy in Chatham, after teachers from the nearby Holcombe Grammar School (HGS) and Rochester Grammar School (RGS) provided support sessions in English and maths. They worked with higher-attaining students to help them achieve top grades, and - with RGS and HGS sending dozens of students to Russell Group universities every year - offered crucial advice and insight to A-level students at Victory aiming for places at our best HE institutions.

Furthermore, staff at all our schools can develop and grow professionally beyond the experiences of one type of school, with those from selective and non-selective schools contributing to all aspects of school development and support including curriculum design, use of knowledge banks, assessment frameworks and pedagogy.

The impact of this has been clear to see. Six schools, primary and secondary, that had not been judged “good” or better by Ofsted for a generation joined Thinking Schools after years of underperformance - and are now all rated as “good” schools.

In all cases, our grammar-school colleagues have supported their turnarounds and been a crucially important part of the school improvement solution.

This is not to say that grammar schools simply ride in and save the day and take nothing away themselves - it is very much a two-way street, with all parties learning from each other.

The mixed model means there is a real breadth and depth to the opportunities afforded for career development, and staff know they are not confined to one type of school. We have teachers, middle leaders and senior leaders moving between selective and non-selective schools, and vice versa.

Part of the family

Then there is the opportunity for students to meaningfully engage across ability ranges and ages. Grammar-school students do not live in a world only of other grammar-school students, and they benefit greatly from being part of a wider family of schools engaging with those from a wide variety of backgrounds, experiences and geographical areas.

For example, our trust-wide Earth Alliance student conference is led by Plymouth High School for Girls (a grammar school), while Rochester Grammar School students have regularly supported students at Gordons Junior School to develop their maths.

We have joint Duke of Edinburgh trips in the pipeline and are due to launch our trust-wide student leadership team next year.

Being part of a strong MAT also opens up funding opportunities for grammar schools, which so often have been underfunded.

Plymouth High School for Girls joined us in February 2021 and has been able to access £250,000 for much-needed facilities upgrades, including an overhaul of the IT equipment and new ICT suites.

A loss of independence?

A key concern flagged by the GSHA is that the board of a MAT that a grammar school joined would have the power to change its admissions policy. While right in principle, it would be almost impossible in practice thanks to straightforward safeguards that should be put in place.

First, any grammar school joining a MAT should make sure, as part of its due diligence, that the academy trust is supportive of selective education and understands it.

Second, on joining the MAT, a protection can ensure that as part of the scheme of delegation, powers over the grammar school’s admissions criteria are delegated to its local governing body.

Even in the unlikely event that the trust board at a later date would attempt to override this and change a grammar school’s admissions policy, then it would require the full support of the board as well as consultation with parents, staff and the local governing body. That is certainly not a fight I think any chief executive or trust board would take on.

So, in the words of Franklin D Roosevelt, I would say to grammar-school colleagues that they “have nothing to fear but fear itself”.

Instead, the Schools White Paper should be viewed as a huge opportunity for grammar schools not to ringfence themselves but to build close, valuable and meaningful relationships with others across the educational landscape for the benefit of all schools, staff and students.

Stuart Gardner is chief executive of The Thinking Schools Academy Trust