Elitism in the UK has changed little since 2019 despite upheavals caused by Brexit, the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with the proportion of privately schooled leaders in some professions having actually increased, including FTSE100 chairs.
The latest Elitist Britain report from social mobility charity the Sutton Trust cited research that found graduates from working-class backgrounds were well represented in the applicant pools for professional occupations, but were 32% less likely to get a job offer than applicants from professional backgrounds. Privately educated applicants were 9% more likely to get a job offer than otherwise similar state-educated applicants.
Overall, 36% of those working in the UK’s top jobs went to a private school, compared with 39% in 2019 – a slight improvement.
The biggest falls in numbers of the privately educated (32 percentage points) have been in the government cabinet – with Labour winning the 2024 election; local government leaders and the news media (down 10pp). There were large increases in the proportion of people who were privately educated in the shadow cabinet and among FTSE chairs.
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Keir Starmer’s cabinet in 2025 is groundbreaking with just 7% privately educated members (86% comprehensive
and 7% grammar) compared with 39% in 2019.
Oxbridge attendance has fallen slightly from 24% in 2019 to 21% now among leaders, with university attendance overall staying above 80%.
The biggest changes in Oxbridge attendance outside the cabinet/shadow cabinet were among entrepreneurs (up 11pp), news media (down 13pp) and the armed forces (down 8pp).
The heads of many of UK’s largest companies were educated abroad; including 53% of FTSE 100 CEOs. When considering only those educated in the UK, 37% of FTSE CEOs and 68% of FTSE chairs went to private schools (the latter rising by 15pp since 2019). The “old boys network” remained strongest among chairs, with as many as 41% of those educated in the UK having attended both private school and Oxbridge. Over half of UK-educated members of the Sunday Times Rich List went to private school, as did 54% of the newspaper’s Young Power List.
If 93% of pupils in the UK are state educated, then this should be reflected across all sectors and positions in society” – Mary Osofisan, co-chair of the Sutton Trust
Sarah Atkinson, CEO of the Social Mobility Foundation said “bold action” was needed. She said: “Elitist Britain is a stark reminder of the challenges the country faces when it comes to social mobility. It’s disheartening to see the lack of progress in six years and to see some sectors backsliding when it comes to socioeconomic diversity. We know that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not, and that bold action is needed to create lasting change.
“There are some hopeful areas where we see leaders better reflecting the rest of the country. But too many sectors are still shutting talented people out because of where they grew up, went to school or university. This isn’t just unfair, it’s bad for business, the economy, and it’s holding brilliant people back.”
Nick Harrison, chief executive at the Sutton Trust, pointed out that although “our country is changing, our leaders are not”.
He said: “Over the last decade, diversity initiatives have rightly focused on improving access for women, people from a wider range of ethnic backgrounds, and those with disabilities. But we have not put the same focus on socioeconomic background: what many of us would call ‘class’. Disadvantage gaps open early and run deep in our country.”
Mary Osofisan, co-chair of the Sutton Trust, added: “If 93% of pupils in the UK are state educated, then this should be reflected across all sectors and positions in society.”
The Sutton Trust recommended that firms widen their talent pipelines by recruiting from a broader group of universities beyond the Russell Group, as well as those with other qualifications like apprenticeships and examining whether academic requirements or thresholds are genuinely required to do the job at hand.
Where school grades were used to sift candidates, the context they were achieved needed to be taken into account, including using contextual recruitment tools – and AI must not lead to the further marginalisation of under-represented groups.
It was important to collect data on the socio-economic background of their applicants and workforce, said the Trust. Under-representation was difficult to tackle without better data on the problem. To this end, the Sutton Trust, Social Mobility Commission and others recommend asking about parental occupation at age 14 as the main measure to use.
Increased collaboration with schools, colleges and universities and community organisations was also advised so that students from disadvantaged backgrounds were supported in their transition from education into the workplace.
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