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Lecture 5: Social classes in Britain
An unequal society?
Trade union leader in 2014:
‘Are we going to settle for a nastier and
poorer Britain - a Downton Abbey-style
society, in which the living standards of the
vast majority are sacrificed to protect the
high living of the well-to-do?’
 a class-ridden society? A society where
the social class you belong to still matters
in terms of job opportunities, education?
The servants…
A Downton-Abbey style society?
and the wealthy owners of the Abbey…
1. How do you define
‘social class’?
Historically (19th century), Britain divided into
three classes:
- the upper class
- the middle class
- the working class (or the lower class)
This picture is taken from a sketch
– go and check it out on UMTICE
How do you define ‘social class’?
• money (how much you earn, how much
you inherit)
• family (aristocracy? social background?)
• property (where do you live? what do
you own?)
• education (private education? state
education? university?)
• social networks (who do you socialise
with? who do you know?)
• cultural activities (hobbies, interests?)
New divisions in British society
Sociologists from London School of
Economics now state that there are 7 social
classes in Britain
- influenced by Pierre Bourdieu’s work
-not only money and family backgrounds
should be taken into account  your
economic capital
-cultural activities, friends you socialize
with, etc.  your social and cultural capital
The Great British Class Survey,
2011
• organized by LSE sociologists
• survey answered by 160,000 people
• questions on not only your economic
capital but also your social and cultural
capital
• results: 7 classes in Britain
The 7 classes of Britain
• the elite (6% of the population)
• the established middle class (25%)
• the technical middle class (6%)
• the new affluent workers (15%)
• the emergent service workers (14%)
• the traditional working class (19%)
• the precariat (15%)
RED: upper class; GREEN: middle class (46%);
BLUE: working class (48%)
Conclusions of the survey
• stereotypes of the middle and the
working classes are out of date: those two
groups are now very heterogeneous
• the traditional working class is changing
• the extremes of the class system are very
important (Elite and Precariat): the very
poor and the very rich still exist
2. Symptoms of an unequal society: education
2.1. The school curriculum
•education has been compulsory in Britain between the ages
of 5 and 15 since the 1944 Education Act
•it set up a three-stage system: primary education (5-12 y),
secondary (12-15 y) and further (15+ y)
•the main exam is taken at the end of secondary schoool: the
General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE).
Students have three compulsory topics (Maths, English and
Science) and they can choose other topics as well
•they will receive A* - C grades according to their
performances
•they can then continue school and join the school sixth form,
after which they can take A-Levels in the topics they want;
this is necessary if they want to get into university
2. Symptoms of an unequal
society: education
2.2. A two-speed system?
•86% of pupils go to state schools or
comprehensive schools that don’t select their
pupils
•4% of pupils go to free grammar schools
(selective schools, 164 left in Britain)
•7% of pupils go to public schools (= private,
fee-paying schools), which are selective
Public schools
Eton boys, £30,000/year
Harrow boys,
£28,000/year
Public schools: politicians and royalty
Prince Harry
David Cameron
Public schools
• disproportionate representation of
former public school boys and girls in
top positions:
 71% senior judges
 62% senior armed forces
 55% political secretaries
 54% of top media professionals
 networks of influence and power
2. Symptoms of an unequal
society: education
2.3. University admission and education
Admissions:
-before sitting A-Levels, students are given
an offer based on a letter of application, an
interview and a school report
-then they know which of the UK’s 100
universities they will get in
Types of universities
• ‘ancient universities’, dating back from
the 13th century (Oxford, Cambridge),
15th century (St Andrew’s, Glasgow), 16th
century (Edinburgh)
• ‘red brick universities’, built at the end of
the 19th century (Manchester, Liverpool)
• new universities, built in the 1960s to
cater to the increasing number of
students (outside campuses: Warwick,
Kingston)
University curriculum and fees
• Bachelor’s degree (BA): 3 years
• Master’s degree (MA): 2 years
• PhD: 3 years
Tuition fees are very high:
2004: Labour allowed universities to
charge up to £3,000/year
2010: LibDem/Tory allowed universities to
charge up to £9,000/year
64 universities now charge £9,000/year
students can get a student loan