Rob Wilson, MP for Reading East, spoke passionately during a parliamentary debate on grammar schools yesterday, making the case to Schools Minister Nick Gibb for their continuation and deploring the “democratic deficit” that opened up in Reading when moves were made to abolish them.
Rob’s call came during a Westminster Hall debate at which he gave an account of the local battle to save Reading and Kendrick Schools from an anonymous group of just 10 residents, who attempted to trigger a ballot on the schools’ future earlier this year.
In his speech, Rob pushed the Minister and the Department for Education to re-examine the complex and confusing legal arrangements surrounding the ‘trigger mechanism’ for a ballot on the grammar schools’ future. In response, the Minister pledged that the Department is “looking very seriously at the technical issues that my Honourable Friend raised both today and in recent weeks.”
Commenting Rob said: “Reading’s grammar schools are a beacon of local educational excellence and I will fight any attempts to abolish them. Earlier this year a tiny minority attempted to impose their will upon an entire community and in doing so created instability for staff, pupils and parents at the schools.
“Unless action is taken to address the trigger mechanism for local ballots, there is nothing to stop vexatious year-on-year attempts to destabilise the grammar school system.”
He concluded: “I am pleased that the Minister is taking this democratic deficit seriously and look forward to his response.”