Robert Verkaik:   Posh Boys - How English Public Schools Ruin Britain.   London: Oneworld.  2019.


I read this in February 2020.

This book focusses on the power of public (independent) schools in Britain. There is a famous saying,
that the Battle of Waterloo (1815), “was won on the playing fields of Eton.” It is wrongly attributed to
the Duke of Wellington. Apparently, Eton also did not have playing fields at that time! Anyway, Eton
College is just the most famous of all British independent schools.

So, why does the writer feel that such schools damage Britain? There are several overall reasons:

1: They dominate entrance to elite universities such as Cambridge and Oxford, as well as key jobs.
For example, since the Second World War, the percentage of public school members of the cabinet
(group of top ministers) has been as high as 92% (Margaret Thatcher’s government in 1979) and
never lower than 25%, (p.119). That is markedly higher than the 7% of students who go to public
schools. Research by the London School of Economics in 2017 indicates that students who went to
nine top public schools are, “ninety-four times more likely to reach the most powerful positions
in British society than those who attended any other school.” (p.289) The ability to follow this route
means that such students become people who have, “inflated egos, unshakeable faith in their own
abilities and a craving for success.”

2: They get too much public money directly or indirectly. Many also have the status of charities,
linked to their original aim of educating ‘poor scholars’. However, in 2017 only just over 1% of
students were educated free at public schools. VAT (Consumption Tax) is not charged on fees and
schools with charity status do not pay business rates. The government also subsidises fees for
military officers and diplomats.

3: They reduce community cohesion by educating children separately.  With large rises in fees,
public schools are less accessible to ‘ordinary’ families. For example, the average UK salary is
26,500 pounds but the school fees at Eton College are 37,730 pounds. (p.314)  Although public
schools claim that they are saving taxpayers money by educating some students, these students
are often those with ambitious parents who could both support local schools and put more pressure
on the government to improve them. Instead, they send their children out of the community, often to
faraway schools.

In addition, the chapter ‘Boys’ Own Brexit’ highlights the roles of former public schoolboys on both
sides (Remain and Leave) in Brexit. As the writer says, “The whole story of Brexit can be told without
reference to anyone educated in the state sector, from the eurosceptics building their movement, to the
prime minister who promised a referendum to stave off rebels in his own party, to both the Remain and
the two Leave campaigns.” (p.170)

Finally, he also documents just how difficult it has been to reform the situation, but the writer is certain
that reform is necessary.

See other books which I have read.