ABSTRACT
The relationship between education and the entry of individuals into particular occupations is both complex and problematic. Swift continues that the training of a selected few for leadership and authority in state and civil society is the prerogative of the public schools, while both Bottomore and Barron have cited the historical link between the public schools and the occupational structure. One of the comprehensive schools involved in the research was formed from a single grammar school. It should be noted that while female students had lower aspirations to university than male students within each group, female students at private sector schools had a higher aspiration rate than male students at comprehensive schools. Students were also asked for the reasons for their proposed choice at 18+. It can be seen that a higher proportion of private sector school students entered sixth forms aspiring to higher education.
