In Britain, private schools – including their fundamental unfairness – remain the elephant in the room. At the 99th rung – families with incomes upwards of £300,000 – six out of every 10 children are at private school. In France, private schools are mainly Catholic schools permitted to teach religion: the state pays the teachers and the fees are very low. In the US there is a very small sector of non-sectarian private schools with high fees, but most private schools are, again, religious, with much lower fees than here. • Engines of Privilege: Britain’s Private School Problem by Francis Green and David Kynaston is published by Bloomsbury on 7 February (£20).

Source: The Guardian January 13, 2019 08:00 UTC