Engines of Privilege: Britain's Private School Problem

Private fee-paying schools have been one of the elements at the heart of inequality in the UK for many years. Schools that once provided a quality education to those most in need have become institutions augmenting the privileges enjoyed by the elite.

They are giving a few, those with parents with enough money to send them to public school, a head start in life. From public schools come connections with the crème de la crème to Oxbridge or Russell Group universities to top jobs in government, finance, the civil service and the arts, they’re set on the path to greatness from an early age.

In Engines of Privilege, Kynaston and Green paint a clear picture of the product that parents’ money is buying – wonderful facilities and almost-endless resources. They also highlight which policies have enabled public schools to be considered as charities, affording them economic relief. Above all else, the authors argue how such an education system is damaging British democracy and its position as a country in which everyone starts off with equal opportunities.

This is a very important book about a very important issue. Even though there has always been a debate around the issue of the unequal privilege bestowed upon those able to afford to be sent to a private school. The will to engage in a system-changing debate is there and yet little has been done so far.

Engines of Privilege provides those wanting to make a difference with a rich source of case studies, policy ideas that could change the system and a well-rounded portrait on the damaging impact that the British education system’s unfairness can have on democracy. This book could be a real conversation starter!