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I didn't fail the 11+, nor did I pass it. I was what was described as "borderline" and it was subsequently decided that I should attend the my local secondary modern school. The year after I started secondary school the LEA went "comprehensive". If this had not happened I would have left school at 16 with a handful of useless CSE's and no chance of a professional career. However, the change in the education system enabled me to leave school with good GCE "O" levels and afforded me the opportunity to go to 6th form college and obtain "A" levels. Due to family reasons I was unable to go to university after 6th form but have subsequently achieved a BSc (2:1),a professional qualification and also have a Masters degree. The story could have been so different if I had remained a grammar school reject.

- Lilian, Hampshire, UK

I agree entirely with the majority view that Grammar Schools are the answer.

I came from a working class family , 29 years ago I passed the 11+ and went to a Grammar School. I have more O levels and A levels than my sister and 8 cousins combined , I am also the only person from our 300+ house council estate to have gone to university in the past 30 years.

What I always remember about receiving the results for the 11+ is that of my friends who were coached by the middle class parents failed, and their parents were aghast that I had passed with no coaching at all.

As we were out of the grammar school feeder area, kids at my primary school only took the 11+ if the parents requested it, my parents wouldn´t have requested if my teacher at the time hadn´t told them I would easily pass - Mr Heatley thank you.
My parents wouldn´t

- Fred, Singapore,

the harder you work the luckier you get

- Ron Oliver, Edinburgh Scotland

Perhaps more underprivileged children could get more jobs as researchers/ secretaries if those jobs were not taken up by the nepotism of MPs families

- Alan John, maidstone, kent

Advise for 9yr olds: If you want to avoid paying taxes, hard work and receive a huge salary plus perks become an MP!

- Mark, London

Only with selection will poor children advance into the competitive professions.Grammar Schools are the answer even though Cameron hasn't the guts to admit it and the lefties never will. Maybe no eleven plus but selection in some way is required to identify the most able. Life is hard and children need to learn this A.S.A.P.

- Roger, Reigate Surrey

Milburn, biggest spinner of em all !

- Brian, wales,UK

Maybe 8 and 9 year olds will also be getting advice on how to smoke dope and drink alcohol safely as well!

What about offering them the 'Right to Vote'. Loonies, Lunatic Asylum, Moon, all comes to mind now about New Liar-boring Gubbermunts. Truly dangerous they are now!!

- Uncle Vanya, East Anglia Area UK

There is little to disagree with in the reports conclusions. It's the solution that divides the two political systems- or should. Labour seeks to rectify its failing educational policy by more Social Engineering. No doubt they will try and introduce a new quango or three, and aided by the Labourite Apparatchiks in the Charity Commission will attack the Universities and Professions as they have attacked the Public and Independent schools.

The solution is to bring back an improved selective Grammar School system. It wasn't perfect in the past (mainly because the Government never built Technical schools) but with the plethora of new academies and specialist schools now that mistake can be rectified.

David Cameron should bite the bullet and announce that Schools with selection based on Academic Ability will be created after the next election. This will re-enforce Conservative belief that the family and the educational system are the best ways to create social mobility and wealth and not an unelective down grading Quango based on third rate half digested Marxist thinking.

Of course if DC doesn't want the million or two extra votes next Spring then he can continue to fudge the issue.

- Richard Meredith, huntingdon

Kids of that age should be playing cops and robbers or the un and pirates, not thinking about a career.

- Dhan Raj, Basildon

Bring back the Grammer school. The 11+ was taken a little too early - should be at 13.

- Very Very Angry At Paying Tax For Mp'S Expeses, Home Counties

I feel there is an over-obsession with the "professions". The article is right in one respect, and that is the fact that the quality of careers advice in schools is terrible. Children and young adults need to be educated on the vast number of careers available to them, rather than just focusing on the usual handful.

As a Chartered Accountant from a very poor council estate background, I can safely say that there are lots and lots of really talented kids whose potential is being destroyed by the state schooling system. There are many people equally as talented as me who did not make it for no other reason than the fact they did not receive enough guidance.

- Uvie, Beckenham, UK

Agree with many posters. I, along with many other working and middle class kids from the area, went to grammar school and got into London University. This would never had happened if there had not been a long tradition of grammar schools in my area, and if the feeder primary schools did not, as a matter of course, coach all children prior to the exam. About half of all children got in. Fast forward 30 years and the nearest state grammar to me, Latymer, lets in only about 10% of applicants and I'm told it's so competitive some years that only those who score 100% will get a place. I didn't even put my son in for it, even though he has been identified as gifted and talented, because his state primary school makes no effort to prepare kids for these sort of exams and I knew he wouldn't have a chance against the prep-school and/or coached kids. The opportunity to go to grammar school widened my horizons and gave me so many opportunities. Until we bring back these schools, accept that some children, regardless of background, are brighter than others, and make real efforts to identify them at an early age (this may mean compelling primary schools to put bright kids in for selective exams) then social mobility will remain a pipe dream. I don't understand why successive governments of both hues have been so against grammars, even though many, many parents would welcome them back with open arms.

- Formergrammarpupil, london, UK

One of the biggest threats to jobs is the use of offshore resources working on-shore in UK offices. The impact has been particularly catastrophic in the IT industry. This relates predominantly to the use of workers from Indian. These resources have been brought in (fast tracked) off the back some contrived “skills shortage.” Countless jobs have been lost, and the situation has taken away the prospects of
so many graduates and other young workers who should have been trained to do these jobs. This situation is nothing short of a national scandal. Something else to thank this out-of-touch government for.

- Xtremely Worried, Britain (formerly Great)

I went on a cruise last January and it took in Barbados. On a tour, the very knowledgeable guide pointed out various different schools along the way. She said that the schools in Barbados had been, and continued to be, modelled on the British system of education at the time of independence. She then said there was a 98% literacy rate on the island. All the children wore school uniforms and seemed proud to do so.

Says it all really. Labour out if we want a future to be proud of; bring back the Grammar Schools.

- Captain Black Of The Mysterons, London, England

This isn't so much about our sons and daughters not working hard enough and obtaining the right qualifications, it's about the old school / university tie. It's about getting your dad to get you a placement in his mate's bank / law firm / civil service. It's about your cv being binned immediately because you don't have the "right" university listed. At the end of the day people make the decisions about who they interview or employ, and it's obvious that the predjudices lie in the organisations selection process. Before this government, who has dumbed down our education system to rock bottom, by eliminating as many grammer schools as they can and making university education too high a price for many, bleats on about the unfairness of it all - they need to ask themselves why my son who has a masters cum laude didn't even deserve the courtesy of a reply from all the government instituions he applied too. It couldn't possibly be, heaven forbid, because Oxford or Cambridge weren't on his cv could it ???

- Sally, Egham, Surrey

I couldn't agree more with the majority of the sentiments being expressed on this article. I came from a very traditional working class background(coal mining)but was lucky enough to have passed the 11+ exam to attend my local County Grammar school. I subsequently was offered a place at University and graduated in Law. The Grammar school route to further/higher education was open to all bright working class boys and girls and thousands were able to take advantage of it. However, since the abolition of Grammar schools everyone is required to become part of the lowest common denominator that masquerades as state education, whilst the middle classes make considerable sacrifices to send their children to private schools. The end result is that the families of bright working class children are unable to make similar sacrifices and so their children end up in the mediocre mainstream state education system. Forget about lowering the entry standards required for working class children, as this will only emphasise the differences between the classes. Milburn and the Labour wasters should immediately reverse the disastrous Comprehensive education system and reintroduce local and County Grammar schools across the UK. Only by doing this will working class children be able to reach their full potential.

- Paddy, Croydon Uk

What should worry us all is that far too many youngsters aspire to become 'lawyers, accountants, judges, journalists and senior civil servants'.
In a world increasingly dominated by environmental concerns, by scarce resources and increasing poverty, none of these jobs could be described as particularly vital, and some of them have more than their fair share of over payed, self important buffoons(Evidence for this; previous careers of the vast majority of our blessed MP's, The Mayor of London.)
We need more Engineers, Scientists of all descriptions and Technologists to help the world and the human species survive and prosper in the near future. Maybe the answer is to reduce drastically the salaries in the former 'high status' careers, and encourage youngsters from all social classes to aspire to a career which is actually of some practical use to the rest of humanity?

- Neil, Glasgow, Scotland

It's interesting how self serving the liberal elite are. After 12 years in power, they have filled their boots with our money, fiddled their expenses, put their friends into powerful jobs with gold plated pensions, packed the Lords with their chums, put their children into private schools and then they start lecturing the rest of us. The hypocrisy is palpable. How dare they judge us? And I'm talking about the so-called socialists in government and their left wing friends at the BBC. All run by a mafiosi style elite and all lining their pockets with OUR money and all hell bent on ruining our lives.

- Ricky, Hackney, London

When I was at school in the late 60s early 70s there was unease that Oxbridge had special, relaxed entry criteria for the public schools, as I recall a secret quota system was thought to exist to keep up the numbers from the private schools - as the state sector (i.e. mostly grammar schools) was dominant in examination results. Of course the politicians promised that there would be no dumbing down in the brave new world of Comprehensive Education - nobody with any sense believed it then and nobody with a brain believes it now. It is self evident, Oxbridge is now forced to take below standard state educated candidates. The Grammar schools provided the best ladder for social mobility we have ever had, as a boy from a working class background, I certainly benefited from it and am thankful. Of course the politicians with their good intentions had to destroy it; what else could they do? There may have been some losers under the old system but I suspect that there are many more now.

- Crest, st peter port

Amazing, really: after 12 years in power the Labour Government still comes up with fresh ideas!

- Roz, France

Got talent? Very little of it in this 'bust and bust' Labour government.

IT opportunities have been impacted by the government opening the doors to cut-price migrants on 'transfer' and other job-taking programmes. Medics devote years of hard work to qualifying only to find that there are no vacancies, because the government has poached the doctors that Third World countries badly need for themselves.....

- Jools, London

I just have to concur with most of the comments above. The only way to social mobility is through a selective education system that allows the bright pupils to develop and not be held back by disruptive peers. As I would have said before I was educated, 'me dad's a bus driver, and both grandfathers are gardeners'. Dad worked all hours God sent to allow my brother and I to go to the local Grammar School,to give us a better start to life. We were encouraged and disciplined to attend to our studies. My brother went through Uni and after retiring at 55 is now a NED#Non Exec Dir# so his expertise isn't lost. I went the other route via articles, and now mess about with figures for a living.
So to blow Frank out of the water, you don't, or in my day didn't, need a degree to get into the professions, but you had to have an aptituded for study, i.e.by correspondence course. The idea of 'You need a degree' is meaningless to an old bloke like me when you see todays graduates, who in a number of cases, are as thick as mince. And standards have not declined. Trouble is, it is these graduates that are now becoming teachers, blind teaching the blind, reaping what you sow, I could go on.... but I won't.

- Alan, carlisle uk

Many years ago, a few people went to university and those that didn't went on to do apprenticeships, failing that, manual or unskilled work. It was a fact of life. Then the government, in a bid to rig the youth unemployment numbers decided that everyone should go to university or higher education and they subsequently lowered the standards of education to allow this to happen. Now we have a generation of people that are too qualified (or feel they are) for unskilled/manual work. Also, due to the way university and higher education is now funded, through loans and discretionary bursaries, students no longer feel the need to get part-time jobs in shops and restaurants which they traditionally did in order to subsidise their modest grants. Also, a whole generation has being introduced to living off credit from a much earlier age. Burdened with this debt, many will never have enough money to get on the housing ladder, get married and have to hold out for better aministrational type roles in order to service their student debts.

We now have a situation, where the only people willing to perform the unskilled and manual roles are immigrants. This isn't the fault of the indigenous population or the immigrants but a generation of failed naïve education policies that have created an under-market that the popluation are too qualfied to service. In short, we can't all be high flying executives, a functioning society needs it's ditch diggers too.

- Hansel, London

Annon London.

Stop bleating "poor lil ol me" doing a job I don't really like.

You sound like a typical product of the last 12 years, stop expecting everything to be perfect, especially in your first job.

Welcome to the real world after University, did they not teach you any of this whilst doing your 2.1?

- P Staker, London

Bring back selective education and BAN unpaid internships. How do they get around the minimum wage laws anyway?

- Steve, Brentford

Bring back selective education and BAN unpaid internships. How do they get around the minimum wage laws anyway?

- Steve, Brentford

This could be solved if all comprehensives were forced to make the best of their top stream rather than ignoring them as often happens now.

Quite simply, most comprehensives fail bright children by not pushing them as hard as the grammar and private sectors.

- Ivan, London

The British are geniuses at leaving the door of opportunity open but the room unattended. The elites are past-masters at setting up as many entry hurdles as are required to ensure that only those remain who pass "the fifteen minute interview" (despite any number of years of education, training, degrees and certificates). Legislate that.

- Bloke, London

Charlie,

Your depth of knowledge is sorely lacking. Of course Prem footballers earn ultra-high salaries but that reflects the interest and money making machine around. Salaries in the Championship are a fraction of that and in the lower leagues it would not surprise me if I didn't earn more than them. you also have to bear in mind that their careers probably only span 20 years and that they have to provide their own pensions.

Being blessed with athletic prowess has got nothing to do with social mobility! If Rugby Union was as big as football they'd be plenty of "silver spoon" types earning serious money from that sport and then having the ability to walk into a job somewhere else.

- Mark, South-East London

There is another equally important issue which impacts on the professional opportunities available to less affluent young people which this report fails to address.

The aspirations of middle class families to see their children enter the professions are now so intense that, even if less affluent young people wish to enter say law or medicine, they find such strong competition for places that many are immediately discouraged.

Yet the competition they face is comprised to a great degree of young people who do not really want to be in the professions at all. Many were encouraged when they were young to join a profession because of pressure from their family and peers, and now they want to leave. Their talents lie in other directions, directions which might conflict with middle class convention, but which nevertheless are likely to enable them to live happier lives.

So, as important as it may be to encourage less affluent families to raise their aspirations, it is equally important to encourage middle class families to be more realistic about theirs. Thereby reducing demand on professional training places and freeing up opportunities for others. Social mobility must be a 2-way street.

- Career Energy, London

"need social mobility"????
What have you and your government being doing for the past twelve years, while social mobility declined????

- Sarahn, London, UK

The social mobility experieneced under Thatcher occurred only because of the actions taken by previous Labour and Tory administrations which created the comprehensive system. Similarly we are now experiencing immobility caused by the policies of the Tories 15-20 years ago. It takes that long to work through. Social mobility is not what is wanted but the abolition of privilege which accompanies ideas that those following the professions are worth so much more in status and reward. To achieve this there must be a revolution in salaries and earnings so that NO-ONE from the Queen upwards takes home more than three times the average pay. Whether this is achieved through taxation or income control does not really matter. Then we might be able to find solutions to 90% of our social problems.

- Kwesi Bacchra, Wellingborough

More and more social engineering by a failed government. The reason, if true, it has become more of a closed shop is because of unwanted, destructive government interference. 'Fast tracking' the wrong sort of people is a very negative path. Just look at the mess the Met is in because of promotion on the wrong basis. It has cost the tax payer millions in spurious claims.

Milburn even suggested that people without University Degrees should be given top jobs?? It is just unbelievable the lengths these socialists will go to to destroy our society.

- Frank, Home Counties, England.

Law is not a closed profession, but it (as with medicine) does entail a great deal of commitment, studying, intelligence and agility of mind. Unsuprisingly in view of this it is graduate entry for the most part.

The comments of Alan Milburn make you focus on the hypocrisy of his politics.

This government and the previous Labour government have destroyed social mobility by:

1) seeking a levelling down rather than a levelling up to enforce social equality (ie equality of misery) which they have regarded as more important than upward social mobility. As a result there is less drive among those at the bottom to seek to climb upwards;

2)at huge expense to the productive economy and those who work in it, showering benefits on those at the bottom thus removing incentive to climb by hard work and application and creating an underclass dependent on the State;

3) largely destroying the main instrument of upward social mobility, namely the Grammar School which was the route by which so many from poor backgrounds with academic aptitude and prepared to commit themselves to hard work and study were able to advance in society, attend the best Universities, land the best jobs and enter the professions; and

4) establishing a second rate State secondary education system turning out vast numbers lacking the basic skills of reading, writing and arithmetic, unable to apply themselves and devoid of the capacity for creative and analytical thought so necessary for advancement.

- Tony, London

This is so true! I come from a middle income family and went to a state school - I struggled my way through University, working part-time to pay for my fees and accomodation. I graduated in 2008 with a 2.1 from a top University, moved to London and am working in a job I don't particularly enjoy. It's not that I don't have any contacts in the particular industry I want to work in, I just cannot afford to undertake un-paid internships like many of my peers. Something needs to be done to help middle income graduates start their careers!

- Annon, London

Law is not a closed profession, but it (as with medicine) does entail a great deal of commitment, studying, intelligence and agility of mind. Unsuprisingly in view of this it is graduate entry for the most part.

The comments of Alan Milburn make you focus on the hypocrisy of his politics.

This government and the previous Labour government have destroyed social mobility by:

1) seeking a levelling down rather than a levelling up to enforce social equality (ie equality of misery) which they have regarded as more important than upward social mobility. As a result there is less drive among those at the bottom to seek to climb upwards;

2)at huge expense to the productive economy and those who work in it, showering benefits on those at the bottom thus removing incentive to climb by hard work and application and creating an underclass dependent on the State;

3) largely destroying the main instrument of upward social mobility, namely the Grammar School which was the route by which so many from poor backgrounds with academic aptitude and prepared to commit themselves to hard work and study were able to advance in society, attend the best Universities, land the best jobs and enter the professions; and

4) establishing a second rate State secondary education system turning out vast numbers lacking the basic skills of reading, writing and arithmetic, unable to apply themselves and devoid of the capacity for creative and analytical thought so necessary for advancement.

- Tony, London

The Labour Party destroyed the Grammar Schools; they have tried to destroy the middle classes; they want to bring everyone down to the lowest common denominator. We now have Harriet Harman, who has had a privileged upbringing, banging on daily about putting everyone on a level playing field but their level playing field. They don't want the population to be too erudite and articulate, they might start questioning them too much and might start being too vocal about what is going on in this country.

- Patricia, LONDON

I know of no higher paid career than that of the professional footballer and very few of them come from the social elite.

- Charlie, London

The institution that created the most effective route towards upward mobility amongst working class youngsters was surely the Grammar School. This has been persecuted to near extinction by Alan Milburn's party, so they can take the blame for the results of their own policies. Even more social engineering will only serve to further penalise those who wish to progress honestly and through study and endeavour.

- Trevor Edwards, London England

Here we have a former minister of a "government" in power for twelve years telling us that Queen Anne's dead!
And his party is responsible. Labour have ruined the Grammar schools a traditional way for hard up bright kids to get on in life.

- Albert Hall, kettering

It's funny that a traditional Labour supporter, although I doubt if I wlll ever vote for them again, there was more social mobility under Thatcher than there has been in the last twelve years and quite frankly I despair for my childrens' futures.

- Mark, South-East London

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