Is this a nail in the coffin of the 11-plus?

The principal of High Wycombe’s Highcrest Academy, Shena Moynihan, says the county is no longer a fully selective system after objections against its new admissions policy were thrown out.

She may well be right. We suspect schools and academies across the area will be watching with bated breath to see how Highcrest’s new policy – aiming to stream pupils of differing levels of ability – ultimately works, and whether they should follow suit.

And is it a good thing? Well that is hard to say at the moment, and many clearly have serious reservations. This is a new situation that will have all kinds of ramifications for parents and pupils – some obvious ones and others that may well be harder to predict.

Will children moving into secondary education eventually have to take entrance exams for every school or academy they apply to? What impact will it have on catchment areas? And this is a potentially desperate situation for parents who will have moved near to a school they like to be within catchment, only to see the goalposts shifted by entry exams that mean their child’s once-assured place is no more.

Yet there is little doubt the 11-plus system has its flaws and is no longer the level playing field it once was – particularly with parents who can afford to do so, coaching their children through the test.

The jury will be out for some time on whether Highcrest’s new admissions policy is a positive thing for pupils or whether it ends up tarnishing Bucks’ once proud jewel. Opinion is sure to be divided. Some will welcome Highcrest’s boldness, while others may well be incensed by the proclamation of a ‘comprehensive victory’ on the school’s website which adds: “This is the first alternative to the 11+ based selective system in Buckinghamshire for many decades.”

But one thing is certain – Highcrest’s historic move is set to change the face of our current selective education system.