{"id":1966,"date":"2017-11-09T09:15:29","date_gmt":"2017-11-09T09:15:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.michaelfallon.org.uk\/?p=1966"},"modified":"2017-11-10T10:29:39","modified_gmt":"2017-11-10T10:29:39","slug":"we-did-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.michaelfallon.org.uk\/?p=1966","title":{"rendered":"Column – Grammar Opening is Half the Battle"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Friday, I was delighted to join parents and pupils to officially open our new grammar school, the Weald of Kent Grammar School Sevenoaks Annexe.<\/p>\n

Thanks to all the hard work of the parents, campaigners, district and county councillors, and the Sevenoaks Chronicle, Sevenoaks has finally got the grammar it has been due for nearly a century.<\/p>\n

So it\u2019s about time.<\/p>\n

Parents in my constituency needed more choice.\u00a0 With substantial pressure on local places causing unnecessary disappointment and stress, they wanted high-quality education to be accessible and affordable for their family.<\/p>\n

Pupils in my constituency wanted more time.\u00a0 Travelling up to Dartford or Wilmington or down to Tonbridge or Tunbridge Wells every morning and evening is time-consuming.\u00a0 It never made sense that bright minds in Sevenoaks needed to travel miles outside my constituency in order to get the education that\u2019s right for them.<\/p>\n

Now the girls attending the new annexe will have more time in the day to pursue hobbies and sports, develop friendships in the local area, and be with their families.<\/p>\n