The Chairman of the National Grammar Schools Association (NGSA) has spoken of the “unfairness” of the state of the Grammar School system in England after new figures show that thousands of children who pass the 11-plus could not be offered a place due to limited availability.

Grammar Schools are government funded secondary schools and are the only state schools in England that are allowed to select all of their pupils based on academic ability. Prospective pupils are required to sit an entrance exam set by the school, referred to as the 11-plus. Grammars are hugely popular due to their excellent examination results and as a consequence competition for places is fierce.

The NGSA wrote to all 164 Grammar Schools earlier this year asking for details of the numbers of 11-plus entries at their school,  the number of ‘passes’,  the number of places available and the number of ‘passes’ for whom they had no place.

56 Grammar Schools responded to the survey indicating that out of the nearly 30,000 entries to the 11-plus exam –13,800 'passed'.  However, with fewer than 7,800 places available at these Grammars, the figures suggest that some 6,000 prospective pupils included in the sample ‘passed’ the test, but could not be offered a place.

Bob McCartney, chairman of the NGSA, said, "These statistics demonstrate the great demand for Grammar Schools compared to the small number of places available and the unfairness to children who are qualified to fill them but are denied a place.”

"The Government continues to blatantly ignore parental choice,” Mr McCartney continues, “Its approach is based on political motivation and not the pursuit of education excellence."

It is not hard to see the appeal of Grammar Schools to parents - in 2010, around 1,050 Grammar School pupils were studying at Oxford or Cambridge, 98% of pupils in Grammar Schools achieved five or more GCSEs at Grades A*-C, including English and Maths, compared to 55% of pupils nationally.

The Department for Education (DfE) announced earlier this month, in a shake-up of the existing schools admissions code, that it will lift restrictions on good, oversubscribed schools being able to expand – including Grammar Schools - including the option to open ‘satellite’ schools in the local area.

The new-look admissions system will be, according to Schools Minister Nick Gibb, “fairer and simpler for all parents."

“The revised guidance”, Mr Gibb said, “will give greater freedom to good, successful, and therefore very often oversubscribed schools - so they can increase the number of places they offer to children in their area.”