Vice-chancellors of UK universities were much less likely to attend private school than other top public servants, with half now coming from a comprehensive school background, according to a new report.

Education charity the Sutton Trust said that while studies have frequently looked at the socio-economic diversity of students, less scrutiny has been paid to academic staff and senior leadership levels.

Its new research found the most powerful and influential people in the UK are five times more likely to have gone to a Russell Group university and 21 times more likely to have gone to the University of Oxford or Cambridge.

Its analysis showed that 63 per cent of generals in the armed forces, 62 per cent of judges and 53 per cent of diplomats went to fee-paying schools. Meanwhile, the proportion of privately educated leaders in some professions, including FTSE100 chairs, newspaper columnists and BBC executives, has increased since the last report was conducted in 2019.

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In contrast, vice-chancellors are much more representative of the general population. Just 15 per cent of vice-chancellors of UK universities were privately educated as of January 2025 ¨C down from 17 per cent on the last findings.

This was also one of the lowest rates of the 55 professions included in the report, which included a wide range of sectors including politics, media, business, the Civil Service, charities, sport and the creative arts.

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Vice-chancellors had a slightly higher rate of private school attendance than trade union leaders (12 per cent), local government leaders (10 per cent) and pop stars (10 per cent).

But fewer of them went to independent schools than influencers and content creators (18 per cent), top actors (32 per cent) and male rugby players (36 per cent).

Half of the 140 vice-chancellors attended a comprehensive school ¨C an increase from?only 21 per cent a decade ago.

The Sutton Trust said this change is mostly?a result of a decrease in those with a grammar school education, which sits at 13 per cent. Around a fifth of university leaders were educated internationally.

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Of this sample, 44 per cent attended a Russell Group university ¨C a figure that has fallen by 7 percentage points since 2019. And 16 per cent attended Oxbridge, which was also down from 19 per cent.

Despite the positive news around its leaders, the Sutton Trust said higher education has a reputation for under-representing those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, with barriers to academia including the high cost of training, the low pay of PhDs and the insecurity of early career researcher positions.

In a case study in the report, Maxine Looby, president of the University and College Union (UCU), said she has faced some prejudice within higher education, adding: ¡°You¡¯d think that unions would be more open to diversity but I¡¯ve still faced loads of situations where I¡¯ve had to fight back against prejudice linked to race and background.¡±

Universities have a duty to widening participation and equal opportunities, so it is important that the leaders of these universities are also representative of different socio-economic backgrounds, the Sutton Trust said.

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¡°It¡¯s vital therefore that these positions reflect a diversity of backgrounds. In the context of an escalating financial crisis, higher education needs public support more than ever, but it risks alienating the public with an elitist image of the ¡®ivory tower¡¯.¡±

In another case study, Joe Yates, vice-chancellor of Wrexham University, said universities are transformational for people like him who grew up in a relatively deprived area in north Liverpool.

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¡°They have a history of delivering working-class education which shaped their inclusive approach not only to their students but also disciplinary developments.¡±

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com