PM is ready to listen in grammar school row, says Tory chairman

 
Pic:Tory chairman: Sir Patrick McLoughlin
Political reporter(wp/es):
A strong hint that Theresa May will consider concessions on grammar schools is made by the Conservative party chairman today on the eve of the PM’s first party conference.
In an exclusive interview with the Standard, Sir Patrick McLoughlin said the grammar plans would “develop and evolve” during a public consultation.
The ex-miner also revealed that the conference slogan will be “A country that works for everyone”, echoing Mrs May’s first speech in Downing Street where she set a priority of spreading opportunity for the less well-off.
Sir Patrick, right, warned that Mrs May would not allow the Government to be “hijacked by Brexit”, saying the focus would remain on key public  services and the life-chances agenda.
A record 12,000 people will attend Mrs May’s first conference as Prime Minister, but it risks being over- shadowed by in-fighting over education reform and Europe.
 On grammar schools, Sir Patrick said the Government was keen to give more children who are “academically gifted the opportunity of a school which will concentrate on their strengths and  talents”, but added that it was open to ideas to improve the plans. “We want to make sure the systems we introduce work and we will take into account the consultation,” he said. He ruled out any return to the “binary” era of the old 11-plus and said grammars were “not going to dominate” the system. Asked how many children might take entrance tests, he said: “Let’s see how we develop and evolve the system over this consultation period.”

Sir Patrick strongly defended the aim of increasing choice, and suggested new grammars would be no different in principle to existing specialist academies that have cross-party support. “We have sports academies, we have art academies, we have music academies. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having ‘academic academies’, and they’re called grammar schools.” His comments will help cool the temperature of an issue that has divided Conservative MPs and handed a campaigning opportunity to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
In an olive branch to MPs threatening to overturn the Government’s fragile majority, Sir Patrick said Mrs May had her ears open. “One of the things you are going to see more of from a May government are green papers where we put ideas out and we discuss things,” he said.
Sir Patrick, who made his conference debut as a working miner during the 1984 pit strike, called Mrs May “a determined woman” and said: “The truth is she is not going to let the whole of the Government just become hijacked by Brexit.” He also came as close as he could to ruling out an election until 2020 and denied reports he had been preparing the ground for a third runway at Heathrow to be approved.
In his opening speech on Sunday he will pay tribute to David Cameron, who recommended him for a knighthood in his resignation honours, but the ex-PM will not appear.