When the programme was announced in September 2004, it was unclear whether the new Schools of Ambition would be selective. Some teaching unions opposed the Schools of Ambition programme on these grounds, adding that the new plans would introduce selection "by the back door", a claim that was often used against specialist schools in England. This uncertainty began when, during the announcement, First Minister Jack McConnell said that "there [would] be no elitist selection of pupils", despite having said two weeks earlier that comprehensive schools were "ordinary" and had no place in Scotland, thereby implying that a move to selective education in Scotland was coming.
When the programme was announced in September 2004, it was unclear whether the new Schools of Ambition would be selective. Some teaching unions opposed the Schools of Ambition programme on these grounds, adding that the new plans would introduce selection "by the back door", a claim that was often used against specialist schools in England. This uncertainty began when, during the announcement, First Minister Jack McConnell said that "there [would] be no elitist selection of pupils", despite having said two weeks earlier that comprehensive schools were "ordinary" and had no place in Scotland, thereby implying that a move to selective education in Scotland was coming.