Boris Johnson is the twentieth Prime Minister from Eton

Agree with merrymouse it’s all selective schools

That might be the key message.

(Especially if you look at post war or post 1960, which is probably more germane than what happened in the 1800s when availability of schooling and educational choices were totally different)

Maybe Oxford should also be abolished as plenty of Tory politicians went there.

It is an Elton and Oxford thing, not a ‘man’ thing. The ‘patriarchy’ did not set up a school that excludes 99.5% of boys! Bizarrely, we have not had a Cambridge PM since Baldwin.

The real shock is how few PMs are maths/science (Thatcher being an honourable exception) and so many PPE, skilled in fabricating an argument but not really that logical or able to distil and analyse facts.

The solution is not getting Eton to admit girls, creating female versions of braying arrogant fools (NAEALT!) but valuing different qualities in politicians.

Good schools undoubtably give their students all kinds of advantages that would also help most kids who were able to access that kind of education.

But is Eton a particularly good school?

Would it really do a good job of educating children who don't arrive fully equipped with all life's advantages?

Zac Goldsmith was chucked out for having cannabis in his room. What if you can't expel children who break the rules?

Most PM's since 1960 have gone to grammar school.

Of the four who went to private school it's true that three have gone to Eton.

However, as things stand for the old Etonians, both Douglas Home and Johnson only became PM following a resignation. Cameron did eventually manage to win a majority, but he only managed to control it for a little over a year because of Brexit.

So far their track record is a bit embarrassing. So much advantage, but not much to show for it.

Both Cameron and Johnson are overly endowed with confidence, which has hindered rather than helped their ability to be effective at their jobs. Take away the contacts and financially privileged backgrounds, and there really isn't much there.

These people who do well in these schools are not “genetically better”, they’re spoon fed an education. Boris would likely be a B/C student without it. Why would people spend £30k a year unless they knew it’d give their kids much better grades than they’d otherwise get

That's really not what I was saying. The topic was meritocracy, and the degree to which is really creates social mobility.

Do you really think that genetic advantages have nothing to do with who does well in a meritocracy? That seems improbable.

Good schools undoubtably give their students all kinds of advantages that would also help most kids who were able to access that kind of education.

Redtooth why just Eton? There are plenty of successful old boys/girls from other public schools.

Redtoothbrush - just Eton or all public schools?

I'd like to say just Eton but in reality you'd have to scrap the top 30 or so to make a difference.

@ MockerstheFeManist

There was a time, not so long ago, when Eton used to boast about it being a comprehensive. There was no entrance exam,

How long ago?

Let's just abolish Eton and have done with it.
Redtoothbrush - just Eton or all public schools?

Erythronium - are you not conflating two separate things? None of our new PM’s countless failings are the fault of any contemporary English school - single sex or co-ed.

If you want to rail against him - go right ahead. But I doubt if anyone teaching anywhere now had any responsibility for his education. And I doubt that the five years of his senior school education all those years ago has been the only or even major influence on his character.

If you want to make an argument against single sex schools - again, fine. But it’s pointless to cite any now 55 year old man as part of your argument.

What is it about Eton that makes their pupils so successful?

Rich parents and good contacts. Actually going to the school is almost irrelevant.

There is. It's the bursary system. Eton is, in fact, one of the most generous for bursaries

😂 oh WOW. What percentage of Etonians do you think are there on a scholarship? Very few of the scholarships are even full scholarships and most give a reduction of fees. You’re talking like 50% of the places are free.

I like David Mellor on classic Fm not in government

Can I just add weird post from Posie Parker on Facebook saying she thought Boring was great.

For the benefit of doubt:

Boris Johnson is

Xenophobic
Racist
Sexist
Homophobic

And that's just for starters.

What sort of person would find this man attractive?

What is it about Eton that makes their pupils so successful? Are they better eeucated than other young people ? Or is it just a status thing?

Connections. Money. Darling.

If Boring Johnson was female and refused to say how many fathers her children had she would never be elected PM, despite their expensive education.

paying for a couple of years at a prep school prior to admittance for some scholarships.

While they do have an unusually large bursary pot they don’t actually pay for prep school any more. (I linked to their bursary policy this morning.) Instead they make it possible for pupils to apply for scholarships from state schools following the state school curriculum.

Sorry, I didn't read the whole thread!

What is it about Eton that makes their pupils so successful? Are they better eeucated than other young people ? Or is it just a status thing?

"If there was a mechanism for kids from different backgrounds to access those kinds of schools more easily, it might help with the class issue. I don't think it would make a difference with the sex question though."

There is. It's the bursary system. Eton is, in fact, one of the most generous for bursaries, paying for a couple of years at a prep school prior to admittance for some scholarships. Of course, there are the elite, rich and famous at these schools, but there are also some children who are from poor families, who are in need of the kind of education these schools offer.
It has meant that these children of the upper classes have heard the other side of the story: how Margaret Thatcher wrecked the unions from the grandson of a union man, how she affected mining communities from the family of a miner. It's an opportunity for them to learn, too.

These schools will never go away. The big public schools are well endowed, they have land. There will always be schools for the very rich. Do we really want to make them more exclusive and elite?

What you will likely do is to tear down girls education. Girls' schools are not nearly so well endowed. Some of the public schools are becoming co-ed: Charterhouse (Jeremy Hunt was head boy) is the latest, but the all-girls schools are not nearly so well off.

What would even things up far more is the same kind of investment into girls' education. There is no Eton/Winchester/Harrow equivalent for girls, with the same kind of money behind it.

Goosefoot

I very briefly went to a private school for eight months. My parents moved around a lot and couldn’t get me into a comp nearby, they couldn’t afford it but were desperate.

The difference was unbelievable. Tiny classes, spoon fed an education, the teachers going over and over work you’d done until you’d significantly improved. And this school was no where near the level Eton was!

These people who do well in these schools are not “genetically better”, they’re spoon fed an education. Boris would likely be a B/C student without it. Why would people spend £30k a year unless they knew it’d give their kids much better grades than they’d otherwise get.

HopeClearwater

The problem with scrapping Private Schools though is all the rich people would just flock to the catchment areas of the best schools, so there would be no good comp schools for regular kids.