A Manchester school has been dubbed the new Eton as two of its former students are appointed to senior roles in the new Labour government. Parrs Wood High School in Didsbury has produced more members of the new cabinet than the prestigious Eton College.
Almost every member of Keir Starmer's first cabinet went to a comprehensive school, according to the Sutton Trust, with none of its members having attended Eton College which has produced 20 British Prime Ministers including David Cameron and Boris Johnson. By contrast, nearly two-thirds of Rishi Sunak's Conservative cabinet went to fee-paying schools with a similar proportion in Mr Johnson's.
Parrs Wood High School was established in 1967. The original building was demolished in 2000 and rebuilt next to the former site. The mixed-gender school of around 2,000 pupils was rated 'Good' at its last inspection by Ofsted in 2019. Headteacher Mark McElwee told The Times that the school is 'incredibly proud' that two of its former students have now been named in Labour's new cabinet.