Damian Hinds has insisted there is evidence that grammar schools can help improve social mobility.
But his department has been unable to point to what research the education secretary was referring to.
In an exclusive interview, Mr Hinds told Tes that when he was appointed in January, the prime minister told him “to have social mobility absolutely at the heart of what we do”.
In May, he announced details of a £200 million fund to allow existing grammar schools to expand, despite academic research that casts doubt on their impact on social mobility.
The government had previously planned to change the law to allow new grammar schools to open, but scrapped the proposals after losing its majority in last year’s general election.
In September 2016, the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) warned that while children who pass the 11-plus tend to do better in a selective system, those who fail do worse than they would have done in a comprehensive system.
And a study by the Education Policy Institute, published in the same month, found that in the most selective areas pupils eligible for free school meals who do not attend a grammar school achieve on average 1.2 grades lower across all GCSE subjects compared to those in areas without selective schools.
Asked by Tes whether academic research that suggests grammar schools are not good for social mobility is wrong, Mr Hinds first downplayed the role of grammar schools, saying they play “a relatively small part” in the overall school system.
He added: “The vast majority of our secondary schools are comprehensive intake, and so any approach to social mobility for the whole country will be focusing primarily on the great majority, which is about comprehensive intake.
“I think grammar schools can also play a part.”
When challenged on academic research that suggests otherwise, he told Tes: “No, there are different pieces of evidence depending on how you adjust for different factors and so on.”
The Department for Education said it was unable to find out which specific reports Mr Hinds was referring to.
However, it pointed to a study by the University of Bristol which found the educational gain from attending a grammar school was twice as high for children eligible for free school meals as for all pupils.
It also highlighted a controversial report by thinktank ResPublica which found that “disadvantaged pupils attending grammar schools in England are more likely to achieve in line with their non-disadvantaged peers”.
However, Knowsley Council, which commissioned the report, questioned its credibility after its authors added comments about grammar schools after Theresa May announced she wanted to create more selective schools, saying its authors “are now saying something completely different to when the report was published a few months ago”.
Mr Hinds added that for grammar schools to access the expansion fund, they would have to have a plan “for how your school will increase its inclusivity, broaden its opportunities, and the funding for the expansion would only then be forthcoming dependent upon that plan”.
You can read the full exclusive interview with education secretary Damian Hinds in today’s Tes magazine, available in all good newsagents. To download the digital edition, Android users can click here and iOS users can click here
