Members of the Stop The Eleven Plus (STEP) group in Kent are holding the meeting in Maidstone on Wednesday to boost support for their campaign to end selective education.

Lord Hattersley recently addressed a similar meeting held by campaigners in Ripon, North Yorkshire.

The peer, who attended a grammar school himself, but is a well-known critic of selective education, urged parents to seize their chance to abolish grammar schools.

Tough task

Kent and Ripon are among a handful of areas where campaigners have started to take steps to trigger ballots on changing admission arrangements at grammar schools.

Lord Hattersley is well known for his anti-grammar school stance

To do so, they need to collect signatures from 20% of eligible parents.

In Kent, where there are 33 grammar schools, campaigners are facing a tough task of having to collect as many as 80,000 signatures.

STEP Secretary Becky Matthews said the group had started to circulate petitions.

She said: "The 11-plus exam is utter nonsense. It's ridiculous dividing children at 10 into "future potential" and "no future potential".

"The system is outdated, and it makes school admissions here utterly chaotic. Everything hinges on the admission arrangements for the 33 grammar schools."

The stigma of failing the exam could affect young children very badly, she added.

"A lot of secondary school teachers and parents have told me it can take up to two years - if ever - for children to get over it. It's so unnecessary.