One in three of Team GB in Olympics attended private secondary school – analysis
Nearly one in four sportswomen in the squad were educated at a single-sex school, according to the Good Schools Guide.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A third of the Team GB squad for the Paris Olympics was educated at a private secondary school, an analysis has suggested.
The proportion of privately educated athletes in the Great Britain team has risen since the 2016 Olympics, according to the Good Schools Guide.
The analysis, which looked at the secondary schools attended by the 330 British athletes competing at this summer’s Olympic Games, also found that athletes educated at all-girls’ schools “feature disproportionately” in the team.
Nearly one in four (23%) of sportswomen competing as part of Team GB had attended a single-sex state or private school, according to the report.
Overall, 33% of Team GB attended a private secondary school, compared with around 7% of the UK population which is privately educated.
State schools can be hamstrung by academic targets but private schools have the independence and resources to channel pupils in other directions, notably in this case, sport
The Good Schools Guide carried out the same analysis of Team GB for the Rio Olympics in 2016 and found that 24% were educated in private schools.
Certain sports feature a greater proportion of privately educated athletes than others, the analysis of the British squad for the Paris Olympics suggests.
More than half (52%) of the rowing squad and 47% of the hockey squad were privately educated, while just 8% of the cycling squad attended private school.
The top three schools with the highest number of alumni competing for Great Britain at the Olympics this summer are all private schools – Plymouth College in Devon, Millfield School in Somerset and Whitgift School in South Croydon.
The analysis found that these three schools all have alumni at the Paris Games who received scholarships and bursaries to attend the private schools.
These schools identify talent at an early age and offer places at considerable discounts, often for free, in the hope of helping realise that sporting potential
Grace Moody-Stuart, director of the Good Schools Guide education consultants, said: “State schools can be hamstrung by academic targets but private schools have the independence and resources to channel pupils in other directions, notably in this case, sport.”
She added: “It can hardly be a surprise that schools fortunate enough to have astro pitches, rowing clubs and 50-metre swimming pools are the ones delivering the nation’s Olympians.
“But facilities are only part of the story. These schools identify talent at an early age and offer places at considerable discounts, often for free, in the hope of helping realise that sporting potential.
“The best set-ups seamlessly interweave training and competitions with academic work, and pupils have at their disposal the collective experience and wisdom of seasoned coaches, not to mention onsite strength and conditioning teams, nutritionists and sports psychologists.”
Ms Moody-Stuart said: “Parents whose sporty children attend private school hand over some of the responsibility for early mornings, training, ferrying and feeding but for those who can afford it, or who are talented enough to win scholarships, the results are evidenced in the disproportionate number of privately educated sportsmen and women in this squad.”