According to these figures it would suggest that private education is important for career success. However, there are other factors that impact on one's success, for example their background and social and professional network, beliefs and level of ambition.
A private education and an affluent background are still instrumental factors in getting employees to the top of their profession, according to a report by the Sutton Trust. The organisation, which promotes social mobility, found that while the comprehensive system educates 88 per cent of the UK population today, 74 per cent of top judges attended independent schools; and some 61 per cent of top doctors, and 51 per cent of leading print journalists were educated privately. In politics, 32 per cent of MPs were privately educated, while 34 per cent of UK educated FTSE 100 chief executives went to private school.