Private education brings a career bonus worth £200k

Children who are privately educated earn nearly £200,000 more than their state school peers over 16 years of their career, a study has found.

The difference is still almost £58,000 even when family background and academic ability are taken into account, according to the report by the Social Market Foundation (SMF) think-tank.

The report, published today by the Sutton Trust, an education charity, finds that pupils from independent schools are more likely to achieve good A-level results, to take degrees and to attend the most selective universities.

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The Sutton Trust proposes an “open access” scheme that would open up independent schools to pupils from all backgrounds, based on academic ability. Schools would receive funding from the government for each pupil and charge means-tested fees, with the poorest families paying nothing. The charity claims that applying the scheme across 100 leading independent schools, covering 620,000 pupils, would cost the government about £215 million per year.

Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the Sutton Trust, said: “This report clearly sets out the advantages that can be gained from a good private education. We need to open those opportunities to more young people, transforming the independent sector to ensure that successful day schools recruit once again on merit rather than money.”

Read the full report here (£)