Just 7 per cent of children go to private schools. But a new study reveals the old school tie is tightening its grip on the most influential jobs in the country
By Richard Garner and Ben Russell Published: 15 June 2006
The private school system still has an extraordinary stranglehold on top jobs in the UK and their grip on the most influential jobs has increased rather than diminished over the past 20 years, a series of reports shows.
The private school system still has an extraordinary stranglehold on top jobs in the UK and their grip on the most influential jobs has increased rather than diminished over the past 20 years, a series of reports shows.
The latest research, published today, reveals that the percentage of top positions in the British media going to former private school pupils has risen by more than 10 per cent since 1986. The report on the media follows reports on the legal profession and on MPs which reached similar conclusions.
The research, published by the Sutton Trust education charity, shows that of the leading 100 media opinion-formers, 54 per cent came from private schools, compared with 49 per cent 20 years ago. Thirty-three per cent of the remainder came from selective grammar schools and only 14 per cent were from comprehensive schools, which cater for 90 per cent of all pupils.
The report on the legal profession shows that almost 70 per cent of barristers from leading chambers were educated at private schools. And in the House of Commons, 42 per cent of those holding government office or shadowing ministers are former pupils of private schools. Just 7per cent of all pupils are educated in the private sector.
The findings are a blow for Tony Blair who has made social mobility and the opening up of choice to families from more deprived backgrounds a key theme of his Government.
Labour's 2005 general election manifesto pledged that the party would "build new ladders of social mobility and advancement from the firm foundations of stability, investment, and growth". Labour pledged action to give people greater choice in schools, hospitals and other public services that had previously been the preserve of the better off. The hugely controversial Education Bill, soon to be debated in the House of Lords, has promised a new class of independent schools designed to increase choice - but question marks remain over how much difference the measures will make in practice.
What is most alarming for Mr Blair is the feeling among leading professionals that the trend towards more privately educated people getting top jobs is likely to grow. This was especially evident in the media, where senior journalists and broadcasters warned that people from poorer homes were unlikely to be able to survive the low pay and job insecurity at the start of a career in the media.
Among barristers, the researchers found that younger partners in the so-called magic circle of top chambers were now more likely than their equivalents of 20 years ago to be privately educated.
The evidence goes further than the surveys of leading professions. The findings of researchers at the London School of Economics show that children born into wealthy families are now more likely to hold on to their wealth, while those from deprived backgrounds find it just as difficult to escape poverty.
The percentage of people born into a wealthy environment who maintained their lifestyle into their mid-thirties rose from 35 per cent among those born in 1958 to 42 per cent for 1970.
When it came to children from families in the lowest income bracket, only 16 per cent escaped among those born in 1970 - compared to 17 per cent of the 1958 cohort.
Sir Peter Lampl, the millionaire philanthropist who chairs the Sutton Trust - which is dedicated to campaigning for equality of opportunity, said of today's report: "This is another example of the predominance of those who are privately educated being in influential positions in society." The report shows that only 14 per cent of the leading 100 journalists attended comprehensive schools, 33 per cent were grammar school pupils and 45 per cent had been to Oxford or Cambridge. Oxford predominated, with 37 per cent.
It lists five reasons: the privileged can survive the low pay and high insecurity of the early years in the profession; they are more able to afford to live in London in the early stages of their careers; they can afford the fees for postgraduate journalism course; are more likely to have personal and family connections in the trade; and exude more confidence and networking skills. There were similar findings from surveys of barristers and judges.
Sir Peter added: "My fear is that in another 20 years the chances of those from non-affluent homes to reach the very highest strata of society - including the top of the media - will have declined still further."
Meanwhile, the most senior civil servant at the Department for Education and Skills has warned that education faces a spending squeeze in the next few years - despite Chancellor Gordon Brown's pledge that he wanted to see spending on state school pupils raised to the level of those in the private sector. David Bell, permanent under-secretary at the DfES, said spending would be "tighter" in the next few years when he appeared before MPs on the Commons Education Select Committee yesterday.
Meritocracy?
BUSINESS
31 per cent of the current leaders of FTSE 100 companies went to fee-paying schools. Another 31 per cent went to grammar schools and 20 per cent comprehensive. Of the 1,130 board-level posts in the FTSE 100 companies, just 27 are filled by ethnic minorities. Of these, three are women.
MEDICINE
87 per cent of medical students come from managerial or professional backgrounds. The rest come from skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled backgrounds.
HIGHER EDUCATION
The proportion of places at the Russell Group of 19 leading universities being given to applicants from the three highest social groups was 73 per cent, according to latest figures.
WEALTH
The proportion of the nation's wealth owned by the richest 1 per cent of Britons in 2002 was 23 per cent. In 1991 it was 17 per cent.
HEALTH
Children born to fathers in the lowest social class in 2001 were twice as likely to die within a year of birth than those from the highest social class.
The latest research, published today, reveals that the percentage of top positions in the British media going to former private school pupils has risen by more than 10 per cent since 1986. The report on the media follows reports on the legal profession and on MPs which reached similar conclusions.
The research, published by the Sutton Trust education charity, shows that of the leading 100 media opinion-formers, 54 per cent came from private schools, compared with 49 per cent 20 years ago. Thirty-three per cent of the remainder came from selective grammar schools and only 14 per cent were from comprehensive schools, which cater for 90 per cent of all pupils.
The report on the legal profession shows that almost 70 per cent of barristers from leading chambers were educated at private schools. And in the House of Commons, 42 per cent of those holding government office or shadowing ministers are former pupils of private schools. Just 7per cent of all pupils are educated in the private sector.
The findings are a blow for Tony Blair who has made social mobility and the opening up of choice to families from more deprived backgrounds a key theme of his Government.
Labour's 2005 general election manifesto pledged that the party would "build new ladders of social mobility and advancement from the firm foundations of stability, investment, and growth". Labour pledged action to give people greater choice in schools, hospitals and other public services that had previously been the preserve of the better off. The hugely controversial Education Bill, soon to be debated in the House of Lords, has promised a new class of independent schools designed to increase choice - but question marks remain over how much difference the measures will make in practice.
What is most alarming for Mr Blair is the feeling among leading professionals that the trend towards more privately educated people getting top jobs is likely to grow. This was especially evident in the media, where senior journalists and broadcasters warned that people from poorer homes were unlikely to be able to survive the low pay and job insecurity at the start of a career in the media.
Among barristers, the researchers found that younger partners in the so-called magic circle of top chambers were now more likely than their equivalents of 20 years ago to be privately educated.
The evidence goes further than the surveys of leading professions. The findings of researchers at the London School of Economics show that children born into wealthy families are now more likely to hold on to their wealth, while those from deprived backgrounds find it just as difficult to escape poverty.
The percentage of people born into a wealthy environment who maintained their lifestyle into their mid-thirties rose from 35 per cent among those born in 1958 to 42 per cent for 1970.
When it came to children from families in the lowest income bracket, only 16 per cent escaped among those born in 1970 - compared to 17 per cent of the 1958 cohort.
Sir Peter Lampl, the millionaire philanthropist who chairs the Sutton Trust - which is dedicated to campaigning for equality of opportunity, said of today's report: "This is another example of the predominance of those who are privately educated being in influential positions in society." The report shows that only 14 per cent of the leading 100 journalists attended comprehensive schools, 33 per cent were grammar school pupils and 45 per cent had been to Oxford or Cambridge. Oxford predominated, with 37 per cent.
It lists five reasons: the privileged can survive the low pay and high insecurity of the early years in the profession; they are more able to afford to live in London in the early stages of their careers; they can afford the fees for postgraduate journalism course; are more likely to have personal and family connections in the trade; and exude more confidence and networking skills. There were similar findings from surveys of barristers and judges.
Sir Peter added: "My fear is that in another 20 years the chances of those from non-affluent homes to reach the very highest strata of society - including the top of the media - will have declined still further."
Meanwhile, the most senior civil servant at the Department for Education and Skills has warned that education faces a spending squeeze in the next few years - despite Chancellor Gordon Brown's pledge that he wanted to see spending on state school pupils raised to the level of those in the private sector. David Bell, permanent under-secretary at the DfES, said spending would be "tighter" in the next few years when he appeared before MPs on the Commons Education Select Committee yesterday.
Meritocracy?
BUSINESS
31 per cent of the current leaders of FTSE 100 companies went to fee-paying schools. Another 31 per cent went to grammar schools and 20 per cent comprehensive. Of the 1,130 board-level posts in the FTSE 100 companies, just 27 are filled by ethnic minorities. Of these, three are women.
MEDICINE
87 per cent of medical students come from managerial or professional backgrounds. The rest come from skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled backgrounds.
HIGHER EDUCATION
The proportion of places at the Russell Group of 19 leading universities being given to applicants from the three highest social groups was 73 per cent, according to latest figures.
WEALTH
The proportion of the nation's wealth owned by the richest 1 per cent of Britons in 2002 was 23 per cent. In 1991 it was 17 per cent.
HEALTH
Children born to fathers in the lowest social class in 2001 were twice as likely to die within a year of birth than those from the highest social class.