Private school elite 'tightening their grip on top jobs'

The privately educated are tightening their “vice-like grip” on some of the most powerful positions in society, such as FTSE 100 chairs, newspaper columnists and BBC executives, a report has found.

- Robyn Vinter

Those in the most important jobs are five times as likely to have attended private school as the general population, showing it is still possible to “buy advantage”, according to the Sutton Trust.

Since 2019, the reach of privately educated elites has barely changed and in some fields is growing, the report found. The social mobility charity said it was a “disgrace” that most of the country’s top jobs were still dominated by privileged people.

Senior armed forces personnel were the most likely to be privately educated, with 63% of those of two-star rank (major-general and equivalents) and above attending a fee-paying school - a rise of 14% in six years. This was true of a similar share of judges, at 62%, followed by male cricketers at 59%.

Independent school attendance is 7% across the population.

Of the FTSE 100 chief executives who were educated in Britain, 37% attended private school.