The use of the word "destruction" by the right hon. and learned Gentleman does not help the problem. One of the reasons that grammar schools have continued for so long is that they have shown themselves over the centuries to be capable of adaptation and change to meet the new needs of the nation. I think that that process has to continue.

I do not say that this can be done without anxieties and heart searchings among many people. I was myself a sixth form master in a grammar school and I know well how some people who have served these schools very well indeed must naturally feel. But we must ask them to consider the education needs of the nation as a whole and if we approach them reasonably I think we shall get a reasonable answer.