Posh Boys

'The latest in the series of powerful books on the divisions in modern Britain, and will take its place on many bookshelves beside Reni Eddo-Lodge's Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race and Owen Jones's Chavs.'

?Andrew Marr, Sunday Times

'In his fascinating, enraging polemic, Verkaik touches on one of the strangest aspects of the elite schools and their product's domination of public life for two and a half centuries: the acquiescence of everyone else.'

?Observer

In Britain today, the government, judiciary and military are all led by an elite who attended private school. Under their watch, our society has become increasingly divided and the gap between rich and poor is now greater than ever before. Is this the country we want to live in?

If we care about inequality, we have to talk about public schools.

Robert Verkaik issues a searing indictment of the system originally intended to educate the most underprivileged Britons, and outlines how, through meaningful reform, we can finally make society fairer for all.

Autorentext

Imagine a world where leaders are able to pass power directly to their children. These children are plucked from their nurseries and sent to beautiful compounds far away from all the other children. They are given the best teachers, the best facilities, the best doctors and the best food. Each day the children are told that the reason they're here is because they are the brightest and most important children in the world.

In the outside world they are presented with the best jobs, the grandest houses and most of the money. Through their networks of friends and family they control the government, the army, the police and the City. The leaders tell all their people that everyone is equal and that everyone has a chance to become a leader. But this isn't true.

If such a world existed today how would we react? Wouldn't we say that this is unfair, this is corrupt? Wouldn't we demand a radical change before it is too late?