Private school 'leads to success'

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A study examining the educational backgrounds of the top 500 individuals in politics, the media, medicine, law and business found more than half had attended independent schools.

But today only a tiny proportion - 7% - of pupils are privately educated.

The significance of private schooling for career success has declined only slightly during the past 20 years, the study by the Sutton Trust education charity found.

Dr Lee Elliot Major, director of research at the Sutton Trust, said: "This analysis shows that the school you attend at age 11 has a huge impact on your life chances, and particularly how likely you are to reach the top of your chosen profession.

"We are still to a large extent a society divided by wealth, with future elites groomed at particular schools and universities, while the educational opportunities available to those from non-privileged backgrounds make it much more difficult for them to reach the top."

Gordon Brown has become the first Prime Minister since the war who did not attend Oxford University, he said.

Sir Peter Lampl, chairman and founder of the trust, said weak state schools must be improved. "But we also need to recognise that we have a socially selective school system," he added.

"The top 20% of our secondary schools - independents, grammars and leading comprehensives - are effectively closed to those from non-privileged backgrounds. We should open up independent day schools to children from all backgrounds on the basis of merit alone."

The Sutton Trust analysed the backgrounds of 500 leading individuals today and 500 from a generation ago in the fields of politics, law, journalism, medicine and business. The research showed that 53% of individuals who are top of their profession today and were educated in Britain went to independent schools. A generation ago, the figure was 58%.