Haroon Siddique, writing for the Guardian, quoted Lee Elliot Major in an article which reported that 40% of those named on the UK’s 500 most influential list went to private schools.

More than 40% of the most influential people in Britain went to independent school, according to research which has further highlighted concerns about their disproportionate impact in fields ranging from finance to the arts.

The Debrett’s 500 also found that around a fifth of people on the list, which is split into 24 categories, attended grammar schools, leaving just over a third who attended comprehensives.

Lee Elliot Major, chief executive of the Sutton Trust, which targets educational inequality, said: “Britain’s most influential positions remain the preserve of the privileged few and the independently educated still dominate public life. Levels of social mobility are still shockingly low in this country and we must do more to ensure that every young person can achieve his or her potential, regardless of their family background. Access to our leading universities and top professions needs to be based on ability, not ability to pay.”

Read the full article here.

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