The recent round of Form Captain, Vice-Captain and Head Boy and Deputy Head Boy elections has caused me to reflect on leadership and the qualities required to be an effective leader. The educational background of Britain’s most influential and powerful people, past and present, ought to give us pause for thought. I draw the following statistics from a report called Elitist Britain commissioned by the Sutton Trust. 7% of the general population attend private schools yet 37% of FTSE100 CEOs were privately educated, and 68% of FTSE100 chairs. Just over a third of charity CEOs went to private schools, 62% of judges, and c.50% of (government) permanent secretaries. For leading figures in the media, 50% of newspaper columnists, 47% of political commentators and 38% of BBC executives all attended private schools. This contrasts starkly with the rise of high-profile social media influencers and content creators which shows that 68% attended a state comprehensive with a further 10% a state grammar.
The author of these Notes will not surprise readers by taking an unmodish but equally valid interpretation of such data. That is to say that private schools must be doing something special that enables their alumni to dominate the top positions in the government, professions, business and media. It was Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington, who has been attributed with saying, ‘The battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton.’ The suggestion is that the discipline, leadership and strategic thinking learned through Eton’s sports provision helped to secure victory on the battlefield. This is not to downplay the efforts of the soldiers, their bravery and sacrifices, which led to this victory. The battle was won by the collective efforts and heroism of the soldiers on the front line. Wellesley in making this comment wasn’t celebrating privilege, at least not to my reading, but pointing to a type of mindset that cultivates physical prowess, teamwork and resilience. It is a reminder that when the going gets tough you stay committed to the cause – not for vainglory but to ensure your pals are not let down.
The contemporary political narrative is to view leadership through the prism of power and suppression, the exploitation of the masses by a self-serving elite determined on the preservation of their social and economic status. The debate about access, opportunity and meritocracy will continue to rage, and whilst it does I would like to propose two characteristics that define every St Anthony’s schoolboy, whether he achieves a leadership role at school or beyond. These are the core values of service and conscience, which define leadership in any context. Our Lord encapsulates this perfectly when in St John’s Gospel He says: Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Sacrifice and love are intrinsic values to the greatest leaders in history as they will be for those still to come. Of such constancy we can be sure.
