I agree that Private education should be banned. I think it should be compulsory for all to attend a state school, and if some want to fork out for private tuition in their own time, that's up to them.
I don't see why the wealth and social standing of your family should guarantee you a better quality education leading to a better career. There are young people growing up in sink estates who, given the right opportunities, are twice as smart as these private school kids coming out with 3A's. What you achieve and how well you achieve it in life should be entirely down to your determination and effort, not what your parents could afford.
It is a very, very bleak statistic. It shows the top 7% are being recycled again and again for the top jobs. The same families buying their way through life again and again.
I'm from a rather typically wealthy town, Harrogate. Very divided in that the proportion in private education here is probably much higher than the national average. For 5 years I attended a school often considered one of the rougher schools locally (nationally it isn't remotely, it was rated outstanding by Ofsted), which is just over the road (literally) from an expensive private school with boarding facilities. I grew up knowing the kids over the road would get a better education because they could afford it, they would get into a better university because of their background, and that they were more likely than me to get the top jobs. The effect of that isnt a pleasant one...I dont like the sound of a society divided so obviously by wealth, and thats what private edication does. I worked my ass off, and to be honest, it paid off for me at GCSE. I can guarantee that given the quality of education I received, I worked harder than those at private schools did to get those grades. Just like how I can guarantee you that a kid in a failing state school worked twice as hard as me to get what he did.
The standard of teaching plays a massive, massive role in what you can achieve, there's no doubt about it. I don't believe in the idea that some people should be able to buy themselves the best. We need to focus on getting all schools in this country up to standard. It's difficult to do when all the best staff are getting sucked up by the private schools and offered to those who can fork out for it.