Private school pupils have 'vice-like grip' on top jobs, new report says
Roles such as FTSE 100 company chairs and media executives are still dominated by those who went to fee-paying schools, according to the Sutton Trust.
The privately educated are tightening a 'vice-like grip' on top jobs, a new report has said.
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Roles such as FTSE 100 company chairs and media executives are still dominated by those who went to fee-paying schools, according to the Sutton Trust.
The social mobility charity says that those in most important jobs are five times more likely to be privately educated than the general population.
Only 7 per cent of the UK attended private school.
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The Trust says that their finding show those with means can still "buy advantage" earlier in life.
The report says that the number of those who were privately educated in elite professions has "barely changed" since 2019 - and in some cases is growing.
Senior armed forces personnel were the most likely to be privately educated, with 63 per cent of officers of two-star rank or more having attended a fee-paying school (a rise of 14 per cent in six years).
This was followed by judges (62 per cent) and male cricketers (59 per cent).
37 per cent of FTSE CEOs who were educated in the UK attended private school.
Nearly a quarter of MPs and half of the House of Lords were privately schooled, alongside 47 per cent of political commentators.
Only three top-level categories fell below the national average: male professional footballers (5 per cent), female professional footballers (4 per cent) and the Northern Ireland assembly (0 per cent).
Nick Harrison, the chief executive of the Sutton Trust, said: “It’s a disgrace that most of the top jobs in Britain are still dominated by those from privileged education backgrounds, representing a small fraction of the wider population.
“Little progress has been made in opening up positions of power, with those from private schools maintaining a vice-like grip on the most important roles.
“In 2025 you can still buy advantage, massively increasing your chance of getting into the most powerful roles in the country. This is grossly unfair, and a waste of talent on a huge scale.
"If we want a fairer country and a stronger economy, employers and policymakers must take responsibility for levelling the playing field, where privilege is no longer a passport to power.”
Carl Cullinane, the director of research and policy at the Sutton Trust, said “too often, social class is not included” in the diversity conversation.
He added: “Making the most of talent, wherever it comes from, means employers can move beyond a narrow cohort of candidates from the most advantaged backgrounds. This can be a win-win for employers, society, and the economy.”