Sitting the exam had been completely routine, but I soon realised grammar school would be a major turning point
My most memorable day was the morning I came to primary school knowing I had passed my 11-plus and would be going to grammar school: Harrow County Grammar School for Girls. I knew the 11-plus was important, but had no idea how pivotal it was to be. Taking the exam was completely routine. Nobody I knew had special tuition for it – or if they did, I didn’t know about it.
Although my parents were devout Labour voters, the debate about grammar schools had passed them by. They had no idea that good socialists were not supposed to send their children to grammar school, let alone sit the 11-plus. Like generations of immigrants before them, and generations still to come, they believed passionately in education. Education was the means by which we, the sons and daughters of the Windrush generation, would fulfil our parents’ dreams and aspirations. So, if going to grammar school meant you got a good education, my parents believed that it must be a good thing.
