Social (im)mobility

In a classic comedy sketch, a 6ft 5in John Cleese, representing the upper class, looks down on the Two Ronnies, who represent the middle and working classes. Ronnie Barker says: "I look up to him [Cleese] because he is upper class and look down on him [Corbett] because he is lower class." The tiny Ronnie Corbett says: "I know my place."

Although only 7 per cent of people are educated at private schools, they have a "stranglehold" on the top professional jobs

41 per cent of law undergraduates in 2010-11 were from the three highest socio-economic groups and only 21 per cent came from the five lowest groups.

49 per cent of journalism students came from the highest groups and 14 per cent from the three lowest.

57 per cent of medical students came from the top groups and only 7 per cent from the bottom, with 22 per cent of all medical and dental undergraduates being educated at private schools.

15 of the 17 Supreme Court judges and heads of division were educated at private schools before going on to study at Oxford or Cambridge. Of 38 justices of appeal, 26 attended private schools, eight attended grammar schools, only two attended state comprehensive schools and two were schooled overseas.

43 per cent of barristers attended a fee-paying secondary school, with almost a third going on to study at Oxbridge.

35 per cent of MPs elected in 2010 are privately educated compared with 30 per cent in 1997, with just 13 private schools providing 10 per cent of all MPs.

59 per cent of the 2010 Cabinet was privately educated, up from 32 per cent in Gordon Brown's government.

62 per cent of all members of the House of Lords were privately educated, with 43 per cent of the total having come from just 12 private schools.

Source