Only 6 of 25 grammar schools had their bids for funding approved

Three quarters of grammar schools have been turned down for government funding when trying to expand.

Only six of the 25 grammars were successful, with £14.3 million of the £50 million available for expansion handed out. The cash will enable six schools to build classrooms and other facilities, admitting a total of 1,100 more pupils.

The figures suggest that the government will not lift the 20-year ban on opening new grammars and has little interest in investing in the existing selective school sector.

Schools had to commit to increasing the number of disadvantaged pupils and show how they intended to do so. The low success rate suggests that many were unable to convince the government that they could boost the numbers.

On average 2.6 per