Elitist Britain 2019: The educational backgrounds of Britain’s leading people

This latest report from the Sutton Trust looks at the various educational pathways taken by Britain’s elites “from the type of school they attended to where they went to university” to paint a picture of educational and economic inequality across our society.

The Summary version of the Report (there’s also a full version you can download if you want a bit more depth and detail) contains a wealth of useful statistical data, plus a bit of commentary that provides some basic, but still interesting, interpretation. There is also a 1-page summary of the policy recommendations to come out of the Report if you or your students are particularly interested.

Otherwise, the Summary is neatly divided into two useful sections:

Firstly, a short Overview has some general observations about “a country whose power structures are dominated by a narrow section of the population” backed-up with some facts and figures about Independent Schools, Oxbridge and the occupations with the highest and lowest percentage of students from these sources.

Secondly, a much longer section that links various sections of society and economy (Politics, Business, Media…) to Independent School and Oxbridge representation. The format here, again, is a short introductory commentary coupled with a page or so of statistical data.

Overall the Summary Report is something students and teachers alike should find informative and accessible, with a range of applications across different parts of the Specification.