| Summary: | We present an analysis of the social composition of the UK scientific elite, as represented by
Fellows of the Royal Society, in terms of Fellows’ social class origins and type of secondary
schooling. From various sources, we have assembled data for 1691 Fellows, representing 80%
of our target population of all Fellows born from 1900 onwards whose scientific careers were
spent predominantly in the UK. We find that while these elite scientists come largely from more
advantaged class backgrounds, it is professional rather than business or managerial families
that are the main source of their recruitment – and, increasingly, such families where a parent
is in a STEM occupation. Recruitment from working-class families has declined and for most
recent birth cohorts almost ceased. The scientific elite is thus now more homogeneous as
regards the social origins of its members than it was in the second half of the twentieth century.
At the same time, little change is evident in the secondary schooling of Fellows. In all birth
cohorts, between two-fifths and a half of all – and over two-thirds of those from more
advantaged class backgrounds – were privately educated, although the proportion attending
Clarendon schools would seem low compared with that in other elites. A further finding of
interest is that some variation in Fellows’ class origins and type of schooling exists across
different research fields.
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