A current theme in the Tory leadership crisis is what school to the two contenders went to.
Let’s start with the easy bit. Liz Truss went to a 11-18 mixed comprehensive school in Leeds. She claims she wasnt delighted with the experience but she still ended up at Merton College Oxford. I too, as the first year in London not to sit the 11+ exam went to a similar school, Alexandra Park in Muswell Hill between 1968-75.
It was a combination of a secondary modern and a grammar school and as I’ve noted before it was effectively run by the Communist Party (I am not now and nor have I ever been. OK I do write for the Morning Star..) I was suspected even then of having leftist tendencies and progressed to being custodian of the school’s copy of the Guardian.
Anyway I got lots of O and A Levels and headed not to Oxford but to Teesside Poly wanting to see what life was like Oop North (cold). AP taught me a lot about life but didnt give me a brilliant grounding in French or Spanish which I wanted. One day..
Rishi Sunak went to Winchester one of the top 3 public schools but not Eton. 20 British Prime Ministers have come from Eton and one from Winchester. It appears that Wykehamists are viewed as dependable and capable chaps but not top officer material (by those who went to Eton).
Who knew or cares? The ruling class does it seems. Some figures of the left went to Winchester. Hugh Gaitskell was one and Seamus Milne another. I do know Milne but we’ve never discussed what school we went too (politically Alexandra Park in the 1970s trumps Winchester in my view) but then why would we?
Leave a Reply