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The government faces a row as Tory MPs fight to amend the education bill to increase numbers of selective schools Prominent backbench Conservative MPs are pushing to increase the number of academically selective state schools in England. Graham Brady, a former shadow minister for Europe, tabled an amendment to the education bill calling for independent schools to be allowed to select their pupils on ability even if they opted out of the private sector and turned into academies. He later withdrew the amendment, which was signed by 38 MPs, including two from the Labour party – Gisela Stuart and Eric Joyce – during a debate on the bill on Wednesday because the government did not support it. However, he told MPs in the Commons that he would “continue to argue the case”. Selective state schools, or grammars, are a politically fraught topic for the coalition, in particular for the Conservatives. Four years ago, a row broke out after David Willetts, then the Tory’s education spokesman, spoke out against grammar schools, arguing that they entrench disadvantage. David Cameron tried to calm a row that ensued among Conservative MPs in favour of the schools. Cameron argued that the debate was “pointless”. He said history had shown that creating grammar schools was “extremely difficult and … often leads to them being very unpopular, and they are then got rid of”. Brady, Conservative MP for Altrincham and Sale West, resigned from the frontbench over Cameron’s comments. Last year, Brady asked Michael Gove, the education secretary, whether he would allow more selective state schools in areas where parents wantedthem. Gove responded: “My foot is hovering over the pedal. I’ll have to see what my co-driver, Nick Clegg, has to say.” Legislation passed last year in the academies bill allowed grammar schools to become academies and continue to select their pupils on academic ability. Brady told the Commons that this showed that the government had already accepted that selective schools could be academies and that this amendment “merely extended this to independent schools”. He said his amendment would send out “a clear message that what matters in education is quality without dogma getting in the way”. “We would have the same number of selective schools, but they would be able to accept pupils regardless of their parents’ means. This is a simple measure which would open the door to more good schools. It would … welcome [independent schools] into the academy programme and into the state sector.” However, Nick Gibb, the schools minister, said there were no plans to expand the number of selective state schools. Andy Burnham, Labour’s shadow education secretary, described the amendment as an “outrageous expansion of selection”. “This reveals the Tory party’s true instincts on education – an ever more divided and elitist school system,” he said. “We know this is what Michael Gove wants too, but this blatant attempt by his backbenchers reveals that we are in a real battle to protect a fair education system. Labour is fighting for fair admissions for all families, while the Tory party are siding with the few not the many. The Lib Dems need to decide whose side they’re on.” The economic climate has made many parents decide against sending their children to private schools. Seven private schools have so far become academies. The number of private schools considering becoming academies is not known. There are 164 grammar schools in England. Anthony Seldon, master of Wellington College, said that becoming an academy would not be “the move of choice” for many, but that financially they may have no alternative. Gibb told Brady that he understood his “sentiment that there should be more good school places available in the state sector”. “We will talk to any independent schools – whether they are selective or not – about moving into the state sector to increase the number of good places,” Gibb said. “We have no plans to change the fact that [independent schools] are required to open up their admissions.” The education bill, which will now go to the House of Lords, also gives headteachers greater powers to exclude violent and aggressive pupils and ensures heads have the final say on whether to expel a pupil from their school. At the moment, parents are allowed by law to appeal if their child is excluded and, if successful, can overturn a head’s decision. Other reforms contained in the bill give teachers new rights to search pupils for forbidden items, such as pornography, phones, video cameras or anything they believe might cause harm, and removes the requirement for teachers to give a day’s notice of a detention. Meanwhile, ministers will discourage schools from entering their pupils from taking thousands of practical qualifications on Thursday. An independent review of vocational qualifications, published in March, found that up to 400,000 teenagers were wasting their time on publicly-funded college courses that do not lead to jobs or further training. Michael Gove, the education secretary, will respond to the review in a statement to the House of Commons at lunchtime. He will set out plans to stop teachers being able to include their pupils’ results in many vocational qualifications in school league tables. It comes as the chief executive of McDonald’s attacked snobbery towards jobs at the burger chain. Jill McDonald told a meeting of company directors that the US fast-food giant was creating thousands of jobs and helping young people gain qualifications while in work. “There is a lot of snobbery around our jobs,” she told the annual convention of the Institute of Directors. Schools Education policy Michael Gove Private schools Teaching Liberal-Conservative coalition David Cameron Nick Clegg Jessica Shepherd guardian.co.uk