Seven per cent of British children attend private school – a tiny minority – and yet they retain a grip on our elite institutions. The latest figures show that 65% of judges, 44% of newspaper columnists and 23% of MPs were independently educated.
Fee-paying schools, however, do not merely cater for the privileged few, but hard-working aspirational parents who want the best for their children. They also allow for a quality that is essential in all aspects of raising children: choice. Is this two-tier system an archaic injustice that needs total reform? Or is it the route to a better education for all?
This debate was recorded at the Cambridge Literary Festival. You can watch and listen to more on cambridgeliteraryfestival.com
Subscribers to the New Statesman can listen ad-free in our app. Download it on iOS or Android.
Not a regular podcast listener? Read our guide on how to listen to New Statesman
Content from our partners
Related
