School Choice in London, England: Characteristics of Students in Different Types of Secondary Schools

Abstract

In England, parents make “choices” (in reality, “preferences”) for the state-maintained secondary schools they wish their child to attend. If there are more applicants than places, the school's published admissions criteria are used to give priority to applicants. This article examines how school composition in London varies by first comparing schools that are overtly academically selective with those that are nominally “comprehensive” (“all ability”); second, comparing “comprehensive” schools that control their own admissions with those that do not; third, comparing schools with and without selective admissions criteria; and fourth, comparing schools that use religious criteria with those that do not. We find that school compositions vary. Academically selective schools have fewer students from poor households than comprehensive schools in the same area and have fewer Black and more Indian and Chinese/Other Asian students. Comprehensive schools with autonomy over admissions admit higher attaining students and have fewer students from poor households and with special educational needs, and those with selective admissions criteria admit higher performing children. There are fewer Bangladeshi/Pakistani students and more Black students in schools with a religious character than in those without. Although a range of factors are likely to play a role in explaining the variation in school composition, the evidence suggests that there is “selecting in” and “selecting out” of more desirable students by some schools. Implications for policy are highlighted.

This article is based on a presentation given at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting in San Francisco in 2006. It has since been substantially revised. We are grateful for the comments made by two anonymous reviewers. They would also like to thank Hazel Pennell, RobertWest, Philip Noden, and Peter Currie for comments on an earlier draft of this article.

Notes

This article is based on a presentation given at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting in San Francisco in 2006. It has since been substantially revised. We are grateful for the comments made by two anonymous reviewers. They would also like to thank Hazel Pennell, RobertWest, Philip Noden, and Peter Currie for comments on an earlier draft of this article.

¹There was a recommendation that the school leaving age should be raised to 16 when practicable; this happened in 1972.

²Very few technical schools were ever introduced (Gordon et al., 1991).

³According to section 76 of the 1944 Education Act, local education authorities were to have regard to “the general principle that, so far as is compatible with the provision of efficient instruction and training and the avoidance of unreasonable public expenditure, pupils are to be educated in accordance with the wishes of their parent.” (Great Britain Central Office of Information, 1944).

⁴In England in 2004, the overall percentage of students 11 years of age and known to be eligible for free school meals in secondary schools was 13.5%; in grammar schools it was 2.2%, in comprehensive schools 14.1%, and in other schools (including secondary modern and technical schools) 11.4% (Lords Hansard, 2005).

⁵Data for January 1988 from Department for Education and Skills; figure for January 2004 calculated using Department for Education and Skills (2004) data.

⁶Half of the minority ethnic population classified themselves as Asians (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, or other Asian origin), one fourth classified themselves as Black (Black Caribbean, Black African, or Other Black), and 15% reported their ethnic group as being Mixed (around one third of this group were from White and Black Caribbean backgrounds; National Statistics, 2003).

⁷Children whose parents receive the following state benefits are entitled to receive free school meals (DfES, 2006): Income Support, Income Based Jobseekers Allowance, or support under a specified part of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 or a tax credit known as Child Tax Credit (provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit) and have an annual income, as assessed by the Inland Revenue, that does not exceed approximately £14,000.

⁸Table A1 in Appendix A gives details of the different types of secondary schools in London.

⁹Students with special educational needs may have a statement that carries with it additional resources over and above the funds allocated to schools to meet the costs of teaching provision. Students without a statement have their additional needs met by the school and possibly outside agencies.

¹⁰The researchers interviewed 50 parents by telephone (nearly three fourths of whom were either currently or had been entitled to free school meals for their children)

¹¹Information for 13 grammar schools was examined. All used verbal reasoning tests, 12 used mathematics tests, 11 used English tests, and 8 used nonverbal reasoning tests.

¹²We excluded four city technology colleges and three academies that were operational in 2004, as these are classified by the DfES as being “independent.” The former were set up under previous Conservative governments; capital funding is provided by private sector sponsors, revenue funding by the state. Academies are similar, but sponsors only need contribute a proportion of the funds toward the capital costs.

¹³In this article, inner London comprises the former Inner London Education authority local authorities (see West & Hind, 2006).

¹⁴Supplementary analyses reported in footnotes compare grammar with comprehensive schools in outer London.

¹⁵The comparable figures for comprehensive schools in outer London local authorities (n = 257) were prior attainment band, 5.3; percentage of students eligible for free school meals, 21.36; percentage of students with special educational needs with statements, 2.52; and without statements, 16.40.

¹⁶White: White British, White Irish, any other White background; Black: Black African, Black Caribbean, any other Black background; Other: mixed ethnicity and any other ethnic background; Pakistani and Bangladeshi were combined, as students from both groups have broadly similar levels of achievement.

^a n = 19.

^b n = 89.

^a n = 19.

^b n = 89.

¹⁷The number of schools is lower for some analyses than reported in Table A1 in Appendix A, as the data on schools' admissions for 2001 were not provided by all schools (see West et al., 2004).

¹⁸These included selecting a proportion of students on the basis of ability/aptitude (e.g., in a subject area or by general ability), interviews with students/parents, giving priority to child of employee/governor/former student, giving priority to a child with a family connection to the school, giving priority to a child who will benefit on pastoral grounds, compassionate factors, primary school report, headteacher's recommendation, academic record of sibling.

¹⁹Seventy perecent of voluntary-aided schools and 59% of foundation schools compared with 17% of community/voluntary-controlled schools (West & Hind, 2006).

²⁰This difference was statistically significant (p < .001) as was the difference when community/voluntary-controlled schools were compared separately with voluntary-aided schools and with foundation schools.

^a n = 169.

^b n = 196.

^c n = 164.

^d n = 32.

^e n = 59.

^a n = 197.

^b n = 170.

^c n = 165.

^d n = 32.

^e n = 59.

^f n = 111.

²²This difference was statistically significant (p < .001). The difference was also statistically significant when community/voluntary-controlled schools were compared separately with voluntary-aided schools (p < .001) and with foundation schools (p < .05).

²³This difference was statistically significant (p < .001). The difference was also statistically significant when community/voluntary-controlled schools were compared separately with voluntary-aided schools and with foundation schools.

^a n = 197.

^b n = 170.

^c n = 165.

^d n = 32.

^e n = 59.

^f n = 111.

^a n = 197.

^b n = 170.

^c n = 165.

^d n = 32.

^e n = 59.

^f n = 111.

^a n = 374.

^b n = 198.

^c n = 110.

^d n = 66.

²⁴The lack of student level data makes it difficult to interpret these differences.

^a n = 393.

^b n = 276.

^c n = 117.

^d n = 19.

^e n = 257.

^f n = 117.

Note. Adapted from West and Hind (2006) This list of criteria/practices is not comprehensive.

There were only six voluntary-controlled schools, and admissions to these are controlled by the local education authority; for this reason they have been grouped with community schools. Statistically significant differences (.05 level or beyond) between different school types are bold.

^a n = 382.

^b n = 214.

^c n = 107.

^d n = 61.

^a n = 196–197.

^b n = 169–170.

^c n = 164–165.

^d n = 32.

^e n = 59.

^f n = 110–111.

^a n = 197.

^b n = 107.

^c n = 63.

^d n = 165.

^e n = 32.

^f n = 33.

^g n = 74.

^h n = 26.

ⁱ n = 37.