Grant-maintained school
Encyclopedia
Grant-maintained schools were state schools in England and Wales
between 1988 and 1998 that had opted out of local government control, being funded directly by a grant from central government. Some of these schools had selective admissions procedures.
, as part of the programme of the Conservative
government to create greater diversity in educational provision and to weaken the influence of Local Education Authorities
.
GM schools would be owned and managed by their own boards of school governors, rather than the local authority.
Proposals to convert to grant-maintained status could be initiated by the governing body or by a number of parents, but would then be determined by a ballot of parents.
Skegness Grammar School
was the first school to apply for, and to receive, grant-maintained status, whilst Castle Hall School
in Mirfield
was the first GM school to open.
The Education Act 1993 made it possible for independent school
s to convert to grant-maintained status, and for independent sponsors to set up new grant-maintained schools.
Schools entering the state sector under these provisions included:
Grant-maintained schools were allowed to set their own admissions criteria, which were sometimes at variance with those applied by the Local Education Authorities.
Some schools successfully applied to become fully selective grammar school
s, others introduced partial selection
, and some practised selection by interview.
The popularity of GM schools in some areas was attributed to the poor financial support offered by local education authorities. GM schools were entitled to apply to central government for capital grants for essential building works.
The additional funding, distinct admissions policies and semi-independent status of grant-maintained schools were controversial and caused friction with LEAs.
At their peak in early 1998, there were 1196 grant-maintained schools, most of them secondary schools.
Within the state sector, they accounted for 3% of primary schools, 19% of secondary schools and 2% of special schools.
.
GM schools that had previously been voluntary aided
, or which had private sponsors, normally returned to voluntary aided status, while others became foundation school
s.
However schools could choose a different status, and a few became voluntary controlled
or community school
s.
Though funded through local authorities, voluntary aided and foundation schools retain some independence.
They own the school buildings and grounds, employ the staff and control their own admissions.
After the abolition of grant-maintained status, the only remaining schools directly funded by central government were the 15 City Technology College
s.
In 2000 the Labour
government introduced a new kind of directly funded school, the City Academy, later renamed Academy. Following the 2010 General Election the Academies Act 2010 was enacted, vastly expanding possibilities for schools to become academies. It was described by journalist Mike Baker
as "not an extension of the Labour government's academies, but the recreation of the grant-maintained (GM) schools".
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
between 1988 and 1998 that had opted out of local government control, being funded directly by a grant from central government. Some of these schools had selective admissions procedures.
History
Grant-maintained status was created by the Education Reform Act 1988Education Reform Act 1988
The Education Reform Act 1988 is widely regarded as the most important single piece of education legislation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland since the 'Butler' Education Act 1944...
, as part of the programme of the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
government to create greater diversity in educational provision and to weaken the influence of Local Education Authorities
Local Education Authority
A local education authority is a local authority in England and Wales that has responsibility for education within its jurisdiction...
.
GM schools would be owned and managed by their own boards of school governors, rather than the local authority.
Proposals to convert to grant-maintained status could be initiated by the governing body or by a number of parents, but would then be determined by a ballot of parents.
Skegness Grammar School
Skegness Grammar School
The Skegness Grammar School is a selective grammar school, a sixth form centre and a specialist school with two disciplines, firstly as a sport college and since 2006 also a mathematics and computing college, located in Skegness Lincolnshire for children aged between eleven and eighteen...
was the first school to apply for, and to receive, grant-maintained status, whilst Castle Hall School
Castle Hall School
Castle Hall School is a mixed, comprehensive 11–16 school in Mirfield, West Yorkshire. England. The school has been awarded specialist Language College status...
in Mirfield
Mirfield
Mirfield is a small town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It is located on the A644 road between Brighouse and Dewsbury...
was the first GM school to open.
The Education Act 1993 made it possible for independent school
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
s to convert to grant-maintained status, and for independent sponsors to set up new grant-maintained schools.
Schools entering the state sector under these provisions included:
- some Roman Catholic secondary schools, some of which had earlier been direct grant grammar schoolDirect grant grammar schoolA direct grant grammar school was a selective secondary school in England and Wales between 1945 and 1976 funded partly by the state and partly through private fees....
s: Loreto Grammar SchoolLoreto Grammar SchoolLoreto Grammar School is voluntary aided all girls Catholic grammar school in Altrincham, in the borough of Trafford. Although it is a non fee-paying school, pupils must sit an entrance exam to enter, and fulfil several other entry criteria...
, St. Ambrose CollegeSt. Ambrose CollegeSt. Ambrose College is a leading state Voluntary Aided, Christian Brothers' Roman Catholic boys' grammar school located in Hale Barns, Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England. It was founded in 1946. In 2005, St Ambrose College became a mathematics and computing college and the school is today...
, St Anselm's CollegeSt Anselm's College, BirkenheadSt. Anselm's College is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided grammar school located in Merseyside, England. It is one of four Catholic schools in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, and one of three Irish Christian Brothers schools in the Merseyside area...
, St. Edward's CollegeSt. Edward's CollegeSt. Edward's College is a voluntary aided, Catholic school in the UK located in the West Derby suburb of Liverpool. The institution was formerly a boys grammar school run by the Congregation of Christian Brothers, known widely as The Irish Christian Brothers...
, St. Joseph's CollegeSt. Joseph's College, Stoke-on-TrentSt. Joseph’s College is a mixed Roman Catholic 11–18 school in Trent Vale, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire. The school is based around a Grade II listed building which was previously a residential property before it was bought by the Christian Brothers in 1931.-History:The school was founded by...
, Upton Hall School FCJUpton Hall School FCJUpton Hall School FCJ, is a single sex girls' Roman Catholic voluntary aided grammar school located in Merseyside, England. It is one of four Catholic schools in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, and was founded as a girls' convent school by Nuns of the Society of the Faithful Companions of Jesus...
and Virgo Fidelis Convent Senior SchoolVirgo Fidelis Convent Senior SchoolVirgo Fidelis Convent Senior School, is a Voluntary Aided, Mathematics & Computing Specialist College, in the London Borough of Croydon, England. The school is for girls aged 11-18....
, - some Jewish and Muslim primary schools, including the Islamia Primary SchoolIslamia Primary SchoolIslamia Primary School is an inner-city Islamic Faith school in Queen's Park, North West London, in the borough of Brent, UK. There are approx. 250 pupils aged between the ages of 4 and 11.-History:...
founded by Yusuf Islam (Cat StevensCat StevensYusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
).
Grant-maintained schools were allowed to set their own admissions criteria, which were sometimes at variance with those applied by the Local Education Authorities.
Some schools successfully applied to become fully selective grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
s, others introduced partial selection
Partially selective school (England)
In England, a partially selective school is one of a few dozen state-funded secondary schools that select a proportion of their intake by ability or aptitude, permitted as a continuation of arrangements that existed prior to 1997....
, and some practised selection by interview.
The popularity of GM schools in some areas was attributed to the poor financial support offered by local education authorities. GM schools were entitled to apply to central government for capital grants for essential building works.
The additional funding, distinct admissions policies and semi-independent status of grant-maintained schools were controversial and caused friction with LEAs.
At their peak in early 1998, there were 1196 grant-maintained schools, most of them secondary schools.
Within the state sector, they accounted for 3% of primary schools, 19% of secondary schools and 2% of special schools.
Legacy
Grant-maintained status was abolished by the School Standards and Framework Act 1998School Standards and Framework Act 1998
The School Standards and Framework Act 1998 was the major education legislation passed by the incoming Labour government of Tony Blair.This Act:* imposed a limit of 30 on infant class sizes....
.
GM schools that had previously been voluntary aided
Voluntary aided school
A voluntary aided school is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust owns the school buildings, contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school...
, or which had private sponsors, normally returned to voluntary aided status, while others became foundation school
Foundation school
In England and Wales, a foundation school is a state-funded school in which the governing body has greater freedom in the running of the school than in community schools....
s.
However schools could choose a different status, and a few became voluntary controlled
Voluntary controlled school
A voluntary controlled school is a state-funded school in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in which a foundation or trust has some formal influence in the running of the school...
or community school
Community school
The term "community school" refers to types of publicly funded school in England, Wales, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand to a school that serves as both an educational institution and a centre of community life. A community school is both a place and a...
s.
Though funded through local authorities, voluntary aided and foundation schools retain some independence.
They own the school buildings and grounds, employ the staff and control their own admissions.
After the abolition of grant-maintained status, the only remaining schools directly funded by central government were the 15 City Technology College
City Technology College
In England, a City Technology College is a state-funded all-ability secondary school that charges no fees but is independent of local authority control, being overseen directly by the Department for Education....
s.
In 2000 the Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
government introduced a new kind of directly funded school, the City Academy, later renamed Academy. Following the 2010 General Election the Academies Act 2010 was enacted, vastly expanding possibilities for schools to become academies. It was described by journalist Mike Baker
Mike Baker (journalist)
Mike Baker was the BBC's Education Correspondent from 1989 until 2007. Before that he was a BBC Political Correspondent from 1980 to 1989. He also spent brief periods as a Foreign Correspondent and Deputy Home News Editor at the BBC. Baker is currently a regular columnist for BBC News Online, The...
as "not an extension of the Labour government's academies, but the recreation of the grant-maintained (GM) schools".