Parts of the region could be some of the first to house one of the Prime Minister's new grammar schools.
Last September, the Prime Minister controversially confirmed her government would reverse the ban on the creation of the selective schools, which was put in place in 1998.
Though little detail has been announced, last week it was suggested in a Grammar Schools Heads' Association newsletter that the first new school could open in 2020.
The same document also said that 12 places identified as 'opportunity areas' by education secretary Justine Greening could be first in line - including Norwich and East Cambridgeshire and Fenland.
The 12 areas have been given £72m as part of a drive to drive up social mobility, a measure of life chances.
For their supporters, grammar schools are a vehicle for social mobility, though critics argue they widen the gap between better off pupils and their poorer peers. The options for the new schools, which would open as free schools, include admitting only the top 10pc of the ability range, compared with 25pc in many grammar intakes.
They could also include a national entrance test rather than local ones.
• What do you think of grammar schools? Email lauren.cope@archant.co.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here