A new generation of grammar schools could open in England under Theresa May’s government, the new Education Secretary has suggested.

Justine Greening said she was “open-minded” about the need for more of the selective schools in England and would seek to find out what role new grammar schools could play.

The comments will delight MPs who have been pressing for a return of more grammar schools for years after they were outlawed by Tony Blair in 1998.

Mrs May has previously expressed support for parents who want more places in academically selective schools, and backed plans for a grammar to be expanded in her own constituency.

Around a third of the new Cabinet are understood to have been educated at grammar schools. Mrs May’s new chief of staff, Nick Timothy, has also backed selective schools in the past.

Ms Greening told BBC1’s The Andrew Marr Show that she was “prepared to be open-minded” about opening new schools.

She said: “I recognise that this is an important debate, so of course I've got lots of things in my in-tray. I will work my way through them very, very carefully over the coming weeks.”

Asked if she was completely closed-minded to the idea, Ms Greening said: “I think that the education debate on grammar schools has been going for a very long time, but I also recognise that the landscape in which it takes place has changed fundamentally.