'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.
Robert Verkaik is an author and journalist specialising in extremism and education. He writes for the Guardian, Independent, the i, Observer, Sunday Telegraph and Sunday Times. His reporting was longlisted for the Orwell Prize in 2010 and he was a runner-up in the specialist journalist category at the 2013 National Press Awards. He lives in Surrey.
Title: Posh Boys: How English Public Schools Ruin Britain
Author: Verkaik, Robert
ISBN: 9781786076120
Binding:
Publisher: Oneworld Publications
Publication Date: 2019-07-04
Number of Pages: 400
Weight: 0.5051 kg
'Verkaik comprehensively demolishes [public school] claims.'
* Peter Wilby,
New Statesman *
'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 *
'Does a fine job of reminding us how powerful a hold the elite schools have over public life.'
*
The Times *
'An illuminating and hugely enjoyable read, packed full of eye-opening facts... At a time when the gap between rich and poor is widening, we need to talk seriously about the role of public schools in our society. Posh Boys is a welcome catalyst for that debate.'
*
Sunday Herald *
'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 *
'A trenchant j'accuse against the old-boy chumocracy... Posh Boys is, for a book about public schools, decidedly comprehensive.'
*
Guardian *
'You cannot understand Britain without understanding this - the story of how we became a nation obsessed with elite education that continues to stack the odds against fairness and progress, and the cultural forces it has unleashed upon us all. Robert Verkaik tells it with clarity, and makes a powerful call for change.'
-- Afua Hirsch, author of
Brit(ish)'Inspired, committed, careful and kind.'
-- Danny Dorling, author of
Inequality and the 1%
