Grammer should could be missed by the middle class as poor pupils to get preference #CarryGobySeanKellz #FutureGroupNG via @myentertain9jar

CHILDREN of middle-class parents face being squeezed out of grammar school places under new plans to give poorer pupils easier access.

New plans will give poorer pupils easier access to grammar schools[GETTY]

Admissions policy is set to be overhauled to achieve a more socially balanced intake.

The Education Department has already granted 30 grammar schools permission to give preference to bright children who are eligible for free school meals, an indication of a low income background, or whose parents are on benefits or earn less than £16,000 a year.

Children who have academic ability deserve a grammar school education

Chris McGovern, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education

Another 58 of the 164 remaining grammars in England plan to revise their admission priorities. Critics say middle-class parents should have the same rights as working-class families for selective education.

They argue that the Government should instead allow more grammars to open in deprived areas. Chris McGovern, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said: “Middle-class children will be squeezed out because there’s going to be discrimination.

“Children who have academic ability deserve a grammar school education, whether they’re from a middle-class background or a deprived background.”