Berkley Center

In the United Kingdom, the education system is divided into stages. These stages include early foundations years (3-5), primary school (5-11), secondary school (11-18), and tertiary education (18+). There are two types of secondary school that British children can attend: the fee-bearing, highly controversial public schools or the more common, state-funded private schools. Although only a minute proportion of the British population attend public school, the institution has provided fertile ground for charged political debates on inequality in the United Kingdom.

In contrast to the United States, in Britain the term “public school” refers to a select group of highly exclusive, private secondary schools. Ironically, these schools began as charity organizations for poor scholars—hence the name public school—but have developed into some of the most strictly regimented, haughty places in the United Kingdom. Unlike private schools, public schools require students to pay an attendance fee, which in some cases reaches upwards of £30,000 per year. With limited bursaries and student scholarships, it goes without saying that many British families do not have the financial means to send their children to public school. The consistent failure to address this problem has been a major criticism of the governing Conservative Party, first under Brown and now Cameron.

Public schools such as Eton, Charterhouse, Harrow, Westminster, and Winchester College have produced a wealth of prime ministers, members of parliament, and influential business moguls who have, and continue to play, a massive role in the nature of political and social discourse in the United Kingdom. Not surprisingly, schools such as Eton and Westminster sit right on the pipeline leading to the most formidable tertiary institutions in the country, most notably Oxford and Cambridge. The Daily Telegraph, a UK newspaper, reported that in 2010, a whopping 37 applicants from Eton were accepted at Oxford. From my own experience of speaking to students at Oxford, most private school graduates will proudly proclaim that they were the sole individual in their 300-person class to land a spot at Oxford University. To think that a single secondary school should send 37 of its pupils to Oxford is almost unheard of.

This raises the question of whether public school students are as deserving of their place at Oxford as their fellow private school students. Personally, I have noticed no difference in intellect between pupils from the two schools. However, I have picked up on a marked difference in personality and mannerisms. For example, many of the Etonians that I have come to know at Oxford, though equally friendly as other students, have an air of arrogance and snobbishness about them. This attitude is not overt or in-your-face by any means; rather it is more of an implicit, “I-belong-here” sort of mentality.

As a visiting student, I am largely ignorant of the social nuances of British culture; varying accents, mannerisms, and even styles of dress often fly right over my head. However, I have quickly come to realize that a real divide exists between public and private school students at Oxford. The private schoolers walk with a chip on their shoulders. The public schoolers strut with a proud swagger. Both are some of the most brilliant minds in the world. All in all, it amounts to some seriously compelling drama and reveals a major source of class tension in the United Kingdom.