I never met anyone from a public school until, aged 18, I was conscripted into the RAF. Of course, I was in the ranks and I saw a number of young men who were officers. I was told that as they had been public-school educated they were almost automatically made officers, whatever their abilitities. The regular sergeants lumped them all together as “public school twits.” All seemed to be arrogant with a sense of their own superiority.

The public school elite still flourishes. Earlier this month the Morning Star reported on a study by the Sutton Trust confirming a continuing increase in the number of MPs educated at public schools. 52 per cent of Tory MPs and 19 per cent of Labour ones were educated privately, compared with 7 per cent of the population.

Their power is not just in Parliament. The latest report of The Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, chaired by Alan Milburn, reveals that those from public schools made up 71 per cent of senior judges, 62 per cent of senior officers in the armed forces, 55 per cent of permanent secretaries in the Civil Service, 43 per cent of newspaper columnists and 26 per cent of BBC executives.

Milburn concluded: “Locking out a diversity of talents and experiences makes Britain’s leading institutions less informed, less representative and, ultimately, less credible than they should be.”

Of late, the press has directed attention at the growing number of media stars from elitist schools. MP Chris Bryant has angered film and stage stars “Eddie Redmayne, James Blunt and their ilk” for questioning their severely disproportionate presence in the arts.

Other former public school pupils include TV commentators like Andrew Marr, Dan Snow and Jeremy Clarkson. Jon Snow failed at university but a public-school education, a bishop for a dad and a grandad who was a knighted general did no harm and he proceeded to head up Channel 4 News.

First, it is undemocratic that a tiny elite controls the decisions made in the Commons. Second, their domination in society both maintains existing inequality and increases future inequality. Third, it keeps working-class people from power and influence.

But the damage wrought by the public schools goes beyond social immobility. Nick Duffell, a former victim of a male boarding school and now a psychotherapist, has published a classic study entitled Wounded Leaders: British Elitism and the Entitlement Illusion (Lone Arrow Press, 2014).

He argues that male boarders’ parents are replaced by a regime with a stereo

typically masculine stress on being competitive and aggressive. He concludes: “Boarders are left ill-prepared for relationships in the adult world.”

Boarding leaves the nation with “a cadre of leaders who perpetuate a culture of elitism, bullying and misogyny affecting the whole of society.” They are poor at relating to individuals and with other governments. The system which favours the privileged takes them to the top but, Duffell states, they are the most unsuitable for politics. In particular, he cites David Cameron, Iain Duncan Smith and Boris Johnson as politicians who lack compassion, respect for women and altruism.

In addition, Duffell gives examples of former boarders who have been sexually abused.

His study has inspired others to speak. Edinburgh journalist Alex Renton has revealed the abuse he experienced at a public school. He stated: “Closed institutions like boarding schools are where predatory adults can operate with unparalleled access to vulnerable children. And we were vulnerable. Emotionally vulnerable, because we had been separated from our parents.” He received many emails and letters from those with similar experiences.

The well-known Scottish commentator Kevin McKenna suggests depriving public (or private schools as they are often called in Scotland) of their charitable status, which currently saves them thousands of pounds plus an annual levy for hiring teachers who were trained at public expense. This is useful but limited. Millionaire donors will keep them going and they will continue to feed young people into the British elite.

At a debate in Edinburgh University last year, Nick Duffell and Sally Fraser proposed that private boarding schools should be banned for children aged under 16. Certainly this would be a public good. It is unlikely that the House of Commons, so under the thumb of those from public schools, would promote reform. However Duffell feels that as Holyrood is less in their grip it could conceivably rid itself of them.

Some affluent parents may have to work abroad or consider themselves too busy to look after their children. That is sad, but instead of using boarding schools they could place children with private foster parents.

As a social worker, I knew several such substitute parents. The natural parents could choose private foster parents — possibly friends of the family — and agree on payments. They are obliged to report any placement to the local authority, which then has an obligation to protect and visit the children. This is personal care instead of boarding care.

Bob Holman is the author of The Unknown Fostering: A Study of Private Fostering (Russell House, 2002).