White Britons miss out on grammar school places as pupils apply from China

One north London grammar school processed nearly 3,000 applications for just 104 places during the 2024-25 academic year. They ultimately admitted just one White British pupil.

A neighbouring selective school faced similar pressure, with approximately 3,300 candidates vying for 192 spots. That institution accepted merely two White British children.

Freedom of Information requests submitted to over 50 of England's 163 state grammar schools have revealed the extent of this nationwide scramble for elite educational opportunity.

Data from 22 schools providing comparable figures shows White British pupil numbers fell at 20 of them between 2019-20 and 2024-25.

Meanwhile, 14 of 20 schools reporting on Indian-heritage children recorded increases in this cohort. Chinese pupil numbers rose at 14 of 18 institutions with available data, while Black pupil figures remained broadly stable.

Pate's Grammar in Cheltenham witnessed white British admissions drop from 63 to 28 as Indian-heritage numbers rose from 45 to 72.

According to Cheltenham Borough Council, 83.3 per cent of residents in the region are White British in comparison to just 4.1 per cent Asian or Asian British.

Sir Thomas Rich's in Gloucester experienced a similar pattern, with White British starters declining from 102 to 53 while Indian-heritage pupils doubled from 22 to 45.

In the 2021 Census, 87.7 per cent of Gloucester residents were White Britons. By contrast, 2.9 per cent were Asian or British Asian.

Queen Elizabeth's boys' grammar in Barnet saw its White British Year 7 intake plummet from nine to just two within a 192-pupil cohort, while Indian-heritage students climbed from 103 to 120.

At Henrietta Barnett girls' grammar, a solitary White British pupil gained entry in 2024 alongside 62 from Indian backgrounds.

Professor Lee Elliot Major, who holds the chair in social mobility at Exeter University, gave a stark assessment of what these trends represent.

"When families are travelling hundreds of miles to sit an entrance test, it's a sign that a system originally designed to serve local academic talent is now operating as a national and global race for elite opportunity," he said.

"If you can't plan, pay and prepare years in advance, the race is often over before it has even begun. This is no longer just a test of academic potential, it's a test of who can dedicate significant resources for the preparation."

Professor Peter Edwards, a fellow of St Catherine's College, Oxford, who was raised in a working-class Liverpool household, said: "White children from poorer backgrounds are simply being left behind."

He identified white working-class boys as "the largest group of disadvantaged young people in this country" whose plight "has always been the least fashionable" to address.

"Attempts at drawing attention to this problem have been lazily targeted as so-called 'far-right' political thinking," he said.

"I have heard comments that the cause of this complex problem is this particular class of young people's 'sense of themselves'. This is simplistic and bigoted.

"If this country is serious about social mobility, we must target where the attainment gaps are largest."

Applications have come from far and wide. Sir Thomas Rich's School in Gloucester received an application from Shanghai in 2024, while Stroud High School reported a Chinese applicant that same year.

However, Professor Elliot Major urged caution when interpreting the ethnic data, noting that white British pupils are more likely to hail from lower-income households and reside in areas where educational achievement has not consistently translated into opportunity.

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