What school did you go to? Education and status in Edinburgh. Issue 1 (February 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: McCrone, David
• Is Part Of: Scottish affairs. Volume 29:Issue 1(2020)
• Page Start: 24
• Page End: 49
• Publication Date: 2020-02
• Subjects: education -- Edinburgh -- fee-paying schools -- education-authority schools -- social status; Scotland -- Politics and government -- Periodicals; 320.941105
• DOI: 10.3366/scot.2020.0305
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0966-0356

Abstract

Abstract : The question 'Which school did you go to?' is an attempt to 'place' respondents in Edinburgh in terms of social status. This article examines the social and educational origins of fee-paying schools in a city with a significantly higher proportion of secondary pupils in such schools than elsewhere in Scotland. It asks what the perceived 'pay-off' is as regards social and educational mobility in the context of a significant decline since the 1960s in the numbers attending their 'local' university, and in a city with a much higher percentage of residents born furth of Scotland. The key question is to what extent being educated privately still makes a difference.