It is well known that great swathes of the current cabinet are privately educated, but new figures suggests that a privately educated dominance also extends into business. A private education is of course reliant on a affluence, which needs also to be brought into the equation.
According to a report by the Sutton Trust, an organisation that promotes social mobility, 88 percent of the UK population is educated in the comprehensive system. However 74 percent of judges attended private schools, 61 percent of top doctors were educated privately and 51 percent of notable journalists also went to top schools.
Politics
Surprisingly the world of politics fares slightly better. 32 percent of MPs in the current Parliament went to private educational institutions, while 34 percent of FTSE 100 chief executives went to a private school.
The Leading People 2016 report traditionally considers the educational backgrounds of leading figures in 10 professions: the military, medicine, politics, civil service, journalism, business, law, music, film and Nobel Prize winners and is published ahead of the launch of an all-party parliamentary group inquiry into how to improve social mobility in the UK.
The trust has led the fight to get employers to pay interns the minimum wage and has called for greater transparency around diversity and the gender pay gap.
Robert joined the HRreview editorial team in October 2015. After graduating from the University of Salford in 2009 with a BA in Politics, Robert has spent several years working in print and online journalism in Manchester and London. In the past he has been part of editorial teams at Flux Magazine, Mondo*Arc Magazine and The Marine Professional.
