ITV's long-running documentary series Seven Up! has reached its conclusion as participants turn 70, prompting reflection on the persistence of Britain's class system. The show, which began in 1964, followed a group of children from different backgrounds, aiming to gauge the rigidity of the British class system.
A Personal Connection to the Series
The author, who was six when the series started, notes the emotional weight of watching the participants grow up alongside them. Over the decades, they have shared setbacks, successes, and family milestones, making the finale both emotional and sobering.
The series' original premise was to examine class barriers in Britain. Working-class boys Tony and Paul became a taxi driver and a bricklayer, while prep-school boys Andrew and John, who predicted at age seven they would attend top public schools, Oxbridge, and become wealthy lawyers, did exactly that. Andrew's children attended public school, and two of John's friends became Cabinet ministers, illustrating the cycle of privilege.
Class Barriers Persist Despite Social Change
In 1964, it seemed class barriers were being dismantled. Pop groups and actors with regional accents were challenging the Establishment, and working-class kids were entering university. Harold Wilson, a state school-educated Prime Minister, promised "a new Britain," replacing a stuffy leader who, like his two predecessors, had attended Eton and Oxford.
However, the class system absorbed the changes of 60s liberalism and the equality-enhancing Labour governments, emerging stronger. The latest Sutton Trust report showed that Britain's most powerful people are still five times more likely to have been privately educated than state-educated.
The Social Mobility Commission's latest report concluded that "entrenched disadvantage" stretching back "50 years" was holding back the general population, as the best jobs still mostly go to those from privileged backgrounds.
Wealth Gap and Privilege
The gap between rich and poor in Britain is wider today than in 1964, with the top 10% now owning 57% of the wealth. The top 1% of the UK population has a greater share of national income than at any time since the 1930s.
Seven Up! has largely confirmed that class reproduction in Britain is incredibly resilient, proving its founding premise – "give me the child when he is seven and I will give you the man" – to be true. Where you start in life still dictates, to a frightening degree, where you will end up.
This week, the King's 13-year-old grandson started at Eton, the £63,298-a-year school his father attended. While most children starting at local state schools have uncertain futures, most of those joining Eton with Prince George will end up rich and powerful, with one of them ruling the country for no other reason than his place at the top of the class system.
