Analysis by local campaigners of the results of the 11+ exam for Wycombe primary schools shows that depending on which school they go to children have between a 2 per cent and a 25 per cent chance of being selected for a grammar school.

In real terms that means in some schools 1 in 50 children will be selected and in others 1 in 4. If you are lucky enough to win this 11+ lottery you get your golden ticket guarantee into an Ofsted rated ‘outstanding’ grammar school – all of which are in the Top 100 state schools in the country.

If you don’t enter a ‘lucky dip’ with only a 14 per cent chance of getting into an ‘outstanding’ school, a 43 per cent chance of getting into a ‘good’ school, a 29 per cent chance of one which ‘requires improvement’ and a 14 per cent chance of it being in ‘special measures’.

None are in the Top 500 state schools.

The staff, pupils, parents and governors of those schools are all doing their very best, achieving some amazing results and enabling many of their students to fulfil their potential and realise their dreams. However the combined impact of removing the most gifted children and the concentration of those experiencing the most disadvantage places a glass ceiling on the overall achievements of those schools and many of the students in them.

This is simply unfair and may have life-long consequences for the children.

We believe that all of our children, irrespective of class, wealth, ethnicity, nationality are capable of excelling but whether they do depends on the opportunities given to them. All should have an equal shot at success.

With Labour’s plans to make vocational education of equal value and importance to academic subjects children would be able to make their own choices at 14 rather than having their futures moulded for them at age 10. To maximise our children’s potential we must end selection by the 11+ and introduce a comprehensive system.

This does not mean getting rid of grammar schools but simply involves a transition over a period of seven years to becoming non-selective.

I went to a secondary school which was in transition from being a fully selective grammar school. I joined it in its second year of comprehensive intake and stayed there until leaving 6th form. It was a good school then and remains a good school now.

All of Wycombe’s schools have the potential to be outstanding but the goal of giving every child a fair and equal chance of attending such a school will surely be more likely to be achieved by the ending of selection by 11+. – David Williams QC, Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Wycombe