Comprehensive Future launches open letter campaign to phase out selective testing.

At the start of the new school term, Comprehensive Future (CF) is inviting teachers and education professionals to sign an open letter to Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education, opposing the 11-plus.

The ‘Educators against the 11-plus’ initiative highlights the deep professional concern about using a one-off, high-stakes test to determine a child’s secondary school. The project is timed to coincide with the 11-plus season this September, when some 100,000 children across England sit selection tests for grammar schools.

CF’s Chair, Dr Nuala Burgess, said, “This test puts enormous pressure on children. We believe that deciding a child’s future schooling on the basis of just one test result is neither fair nor smart. Children do their best when they’re encouraged, supported and given room to grow, not labelled by the result of a test taken while at primary school That’s why we’re calling on educators to join us in supporting a plan to phase out the 11-plus. We believe in a school system that is equal and inclusive, and which fosters a love of learning and confidence in every child.”

The letter in full

Dear Bridget Phillipson,

This September, more than 100,000 stressed children will sit an unnecessary exam.

We are teachers, governors and education professionals who share a deep concern about the continued use of the 11-plus test and the impact of selective education on children, schools and communities across England.

In selective areas, we see first-hand the damage caused by testing 10 and 11-year-olds. This high-stakes exam divides friends, fosters inequality, and undermines children’s confidence at a crucial stage in their learning.

We urge you to begin the phasing out of selection by 11-plus exam, so that all English schools can be genuinely inclusive.

It is time to consign the 11-plus to history and build an education system that has the potential to lift all children, not just the few.

What you can do