PLANS for the first new grammar school in more than 50 years are set to be approved by the education secretary, Nicky Morgan.
Initially Morgan had been hoping to make an announcement within the month that the new school for girls in Sevenoaks, Kent, could go ahead.
Yesterday, however, a No 10 source said that although David Cameron publicly supported grammar school expansion, he did not want an announcement before the May 7 general election. Any delay is likely to cause a row with right-wing supporters of grammar schools, and Morgan is understood to want the issue “off her desk”.
She is eager to approve the £16m campus for 450 pupils, which would be a satellite school to Weald of Kent Grammar in Tonbridge, as long as lawyers confirm that it does not break the law on grammar school expansion.
Sources said lawyers were expected to present their advice this week.
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Many Tories would welcome an announcement to avoid handing an electoral boost to Ukip, which has promised to set up a new grammar in every town in England. That pledge is threatening Conservative marginal seats in Kent.
Other Tory councils would also like to submit their own expansion plans once the Weald of Kent bid is approved. In Maidenhead, Berkshire, a proposal for a satellite grammar school is being backed by Theresa May, the home secretary and the town’s MP. Plans for a third satellite are being discussed in Herne Bay, Kent.
In addition, 12 other grammar schools have drawn up plans to be allowed to enrol extra pupils. The 12 represent less than 10% of the 164 selective state schools. If the three satellite schools are approved, it is estimated more than 3,000 places could become available.
The creation of grammar schools was outlawed by Tony Blair’s government and was opposed by Morgan’s predecessor, Michael Gove, who wanted to raise educational standards with academies and free schools instead.
Gove refused the Weald of Kent Grammar, which is all girls, permission to open a satellite campus when he was education secretary. This time, the Kent grammar has applied to develop an all-girls rather than a mixed campus, which was one reason its previous bid was rejected.
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“The legal point is that under existing legislation you can open a school that is a genuine expansion but you cannot open a new selective school,” said a source said.
“The lawyers decide by a range of criteria that includes things like: is there a single governing body, whether pupils spend time at both sites and whether the same curriculum is taught at both sites.
“This proposal has been revised from the one rejected by Gove. Nicky is very open to the idea but . . . she has to make sure it conforms with the law.”
Conservative Voice, a grassroots Tory group, has called on Cameron to lift the ban on creating new grammar schools. It is backed by Tory MPs, including the former shadow home secretary, David Davis, and Graham Brady, chairman of the influential 1922 committee of backbenchers.