DOSSIER 2 LINK BETWEEN THE BRITISH CLASS SYSTEM AND THE BRITISH EDUCATION SYSTEM

« DOSSIER 2 LINK BETWEEN THE BRITISH CLASS SYSTEM AND THE BRITISH EDUCATION SYSTEM As George Orwell once put it “Britain is the most class ridden society under the sun”.

Before the pre-industrial revolution, Britain was a social-background based society and the power people gained from it.

The social class to which one belonged determined the way one lived.

Social classes have indeed a huge impact on people’s habits and daily lives.

The social class system is also impacting the British education system. This set of documents is composed of a picture entitled “Toffs and Toughs” taken by Jimmy Sime in 1937 which shows the British class divide, a caricature, an horizontal bar chart published in The Telegraph and two press articles.

The first one is written for Great British Mag and explains the hierarchy of the British social classes and the other is a press article published in The Guardian in 2018 and written by Molly Innes who’s an Oxford student belonging to a low social class. Looking at this set of documents I will try to explain how the British class system has a huge influence on British society and the education system and how this link can favor or disadvantage people. First, I will explain what the British social class system is.

Then, I will talk about the consequences on society.

Finally, I will account for the link between class and education. PART 1 : the class system explained *class system deeply rooted in British society *before the industrial revolution, Britain = system organized in a hierarchy *the monarch at the top : power and health remained with the royal family *the monarch is viewed as a symbol because the queen/king don’t really have an impact on politics and on laws ARTICLE 1 *before the Industrial Revolution -> British society divided into groups depending on what kind of family you were born into *family = influence on occupation, social status and political choices *these groups are called “social classes”, they determine your place among society *before = 3 groups, now = 5 main groups : => lower class : term used to describe “long term unemployment or homeless” people => working class : a low social class + people who are “unskilled” or “semi-skilled workers” + no college or university education => middle class : most of Britain’s people belong to this category + people who belong to this category are shop owners, teachers, journalists, nurses, business men or office workers => they are comfortable regarding a financial aspect and are often socialists => upper class : people who belong to this social class are viewed by the working class as people who think they are “superior to others” and who have “no clue about real life” + this class falls into two categories of people : the ones who have “new money” (good job but parent who belong to the working class) and the ones who have “old money” (they always have been rich) => aristocrats : royal family + people with titles such as lords or barons *three factors that define to which category people belong = wealth, class and occupation *class is also really linked to perception : how you perceive yourself and how others perceive you *class = subjective / example: some old English families are still holding a high social status because of their origins and not because they are still wealthy So much for what is the social class system.

Now, I would like to highlight the consequences of this system within British society. PART 2 : consequences on society PICTURE “TOFFS AND TOUGHS” *social class = impact on how you dress and act *example with this picture : =>boys on the left = dressed in fancy clothes (suits, ties, top hats) that reveal they are part of the aristocrats upper class + seem to be posing.... »