Parents crowd fund legal challenge over change in admissions at selective schools

A parents’ group is raising money to take legal advice over a change to admissions policies by a group of seven selective schools in Birmingham.

The King Edward VI Academy Trust has drawn up new catchment areas, which it intends will “improve accessibility for disadvantaged students, ensure that there is more priority for local children and provide a consistent approach across our family of selective schools”.

The trust said in response to earlier protests by some parents: “It is not surprising that many more affluent parents, particularly those living outside Birmingham, are unhappy at what they see as a loss of entitlement to a place at their preferred school.

“On the other hand, we have received many messages in favour of the proposals from parents who have had to send their child across the city, despite achieving a high score in the entrance test. We believe that our schools should be rooted in the communities that they serve.”

Objectors said on their crowdfunding page that the new catchment areas, “along with unnecessarily complicated admissions arrangements, are unreasonable, illogical and unlawful and do not follow government guidelines for grammar schools”, and that no equality or impact assessments were made.