Abstract
The adoption of a comprehensive schools policy by the Wilson government in 1965 aimed to end selection at 11-plus and to bring about a more uniform system of secondary schools. This article traces the development of the comprehensive movement, examines the key debates within the Labour party, and identifies some unintended consequences of a neighbourhood schools system that were overlooked in the framing of Circular 10/65. The article focuses on the ways in which the neighbourhood school could exacerbate social inequalities and the incentives that such a system provided to parents to move to better-served localities or opt for private education. As some commentators pointed out at the time, the comprehensive schools policy, far from creating 'opportunities for all', simply created a different pattern of inequality.
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