Professions including politics, journalism and law are still overwhelmingly dominated by those educated at fee-paying schools, a study has found.
Three quarters of the UK’s leading judges and half of David Cameron’s Cabinet were privately educated, the Sutton Trust said. A large proportion of them also went to Oxford or Cambridge universities.
More than 50 per cent of leading print journalists and solicitors also went to fee-paying schools – even though just seven per cent of the UK population overall paid for primary or secondary education.
The Sutton Trust said the findings show that a child's chances of reaching the top in British life still depend heavily on their schooling and family contacts.
Chairman Sir Peter Lampl said: "Our research shows that your chances of reaching the top in so many areas of British life are very much greater if you went to an independent school.
“As well as academic achievement an independent education tends to develop essential skills such as confidence, articulacy and team work which are vital to career success.
"The key to improving social mobility at the top is to open up independent schools to all pupils based on merit not money.”
A Department for Education spokesman said 1.4 million more children are being taught in good or outstanding state schools compared to 2010 and added: "We are determined to spread this educational excellence everywhere, extending true social mobility for all.”
