TRAFFORD Council published the borough's eleven plus pass rates this week, in a bid to give parents more factual information.

It is the first time that the pass rates have been published. They are given by area and by gender, and reveal some clear variations.

In all areas of the borough apart from Old Trafford this year, girls performed significantly better than boys. Twice as many girls in Stretford passed the exam as boys did, with 25.9% passing, compared to 12.8% of boys.

And 55.2% of Hale and Bowdon pupils passed, compared to only 7.3% of those in Partington.

Cllr Peter Mitchell, the council cabinet member for Education, said: "These figures may help parents be better informed about any ballot on selective education.

"The figures show huge variations, and it shows that the wealthiest areas have the best results. The eleven plus is nothing more than social selection and it is giving rise to economic apartheid in our schools."

Trafford STEP spokesman Chris Roberts said it was wrong to judge children at this age. He said: "It is unfair on late developers, and it is as much about out of school coaching as intelligence. If you don't get to practice the exam you are going to do worse."

Commenting on the discrepancy between girls' and boys' results, he said: "This is going to reinforce the message of lower attainment by boys."

But SOS spokesman Chris Marley said: "The results are the same in every city in the country, whether they have a selective system or not.

"The leafy suburbs always do better than the inner city areas. But while SATs show a pupil's attainment, the eleven plus spots potential. This should benefit pupils from inner city areas."

But Cllr Mitchell said many pupils who failed every year went on to perform well at the next stage of their education. He said this was evidence that the eleven plus was not spotting potential in children as it claimed to.

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