Most senior judges and top QCs still privately educated, figures show

Nearly three-quarters of senior judges and 71% of top QCs are privately educated, according to analysis by the Sutton Trust.

The proportion for judges has barely changed since the 1980s, despite the fact that only about 7% of the population attend fee-paying schools.

The ratio among partners in the so-called magic circle City law firms is slightly lower, with 52% state school-educated and 48% private. Within the legal sector as a whole, about 32% of partners in solicitors’ firms are privately educated.

The Sutton Trust’s survey defined top QCs as those ranked in the top 100 by the legal directory Chambers UK; senior judges are those who sit in the high court or court of appeal.

Comparable figures from 1989 recorded that 76% of senior judges were privately educated. The latest Sutton Trust survey found that this has fallen marginally to 74%.

Read his full report here