Grammar schools are back on the agenda courtesy of Theresa May. Why has the Conservative party's love affair with an almost extinct system of educational selection endured? Step into The Briefing Room with David Aaronovitch to discover the history of the Conservatives' attitude to grammar schools - and the impact the system has on exam performance and social mobility.

Contributors:
Newsnight's Policy Editor Chris Cook
Sir David Bell, former Department of Education Permanent Secretary and now Vice Chancellor of Reading University
Social historian David Kynaston
Laura McInerney, editor of 'Schools Week'
Nick Hillman, former special advisor to David Willetts and now director of the Higher Education Policy Institute.

Producers: Matt Booker and Wesley Stephenson
Researcher: Kirsteen Knight. Show less