New research published by Sir Peter Lampl and the Sutton Trust has found that the UK’s top professions remain disproportionately populated by the alumni of fee-paying schools.
Disproportion
The Trust’s report surveyed 10 different areas of British life, including the military, medicine, politics, journalism, law and the film industry. They found that those who went to a fee-paying school are over-represented in all of them.
Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the Sutton Trust, said: “Our research shows that your chances of reaching the top in so many areas of British life are very much greater if you went to an independent school.”
The report found that:
- 71% of the top army officers in the country (two star generals and above) attended independent schools.
- 61% of top doctors in the UK were educated at independent schools; 22% attended grammar schools whilst a further 16% at comprehensives.
- Half of senior civil service members (48%) attended private schools.
- 42% of BAFTA winners (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) went to fee-paying schools.
With just 7% of the general population attending private schools the Sutton Trust and Sir Peter Lampl have called for action to open up top jobs to a more diverse talent pool.
Links
The charity believes putting an end to unpaid internships lasting longer than four weeks would be a step in the right direction.
“As well as academic achievement an independent education tends to develop essential skills such as confidence, articulacy and team work which are vital to career success. The key to improving social mobility at the top is to open up independent schools to all pupils based on merit not money as demonstrated by our successful Open Access scheme, as well as support for highly able students in state schools,” said Sir Peter.
Music
The report, Leading People 2016, found that 91% of BRIT award winners did not attend university with the report citing the fact that most popular musicians find success young. Just under one-fifth of BRIT award winners attended a private school, making it one of the most representative fields surveyed in terms of school background.
But this isn’t the case for award-winning British actors, with 42% of British BAFTA winners coming from a private school background. The report points out that independent schools often have better facilities than state schools. Eton, for example, “has a professional-standard 400-seat theatre with a fly tower – the Farrer – and two studio theatres, capable of mounting 30 productions a year.”
Report
Findings from the Sutton Trust’s report can be found on its website: http://www.suttontrust.com/researcharchive/leading-people-2016/
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