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Aspiring people often send their children to private school, in the belief that they’re investing in their future success.

My paternal grandfather was a working class lad, leaving school at sixteen. Upon leaving the army after the war, he worked his way up the social ladder in local business, becoming director of a manufacturing company, which led to him travelling the world to set up subsidiaries overseas.

My grandfather sent his two sons to what is now the town’s main private school. In those days, it was a direct grant school, with many pupils being paid for by the local authority. Many other families of low means were given scholarships and bursaries, with the intention of providing a quality education regardless of social status.

In the 1970s, it became a fully independent school. My eldest brother would start there towards the end of that decade, followed by my middle brother and then myself. My sister, sensibly, went to the grammar school, which by then was also independent.

In our day, the school was not very diverse. In each year group, there were no more than four pupils of an ethnic minority background. Many of my teachers were openly racist, proudly making a show of their prejudice with glee. My year was also the first to see a cohort of female students join in the second year of senior school.

All of my siblings and peers went on to achieve great things in life. In the end, I achieved decent grades academically, but for reasons out of my control never found myself with those high aspirations. My older siblings in turn have sent their own children to private school.

Today, the school I went to has a very diverse student body. The Sudanese doctors I met on hajj in 2006 sent all of their children to the same school I went to. The head girl is now regularly of Indian or Pakistani descent. It appears that diversity is nowadays celebrated, and pupils from deprived socioeconomic backgrounds are once again encouraged to attend.

Many of my friends, who were themselves raised amidst socioeconomic hardship — often the children of immigrants, attending the worst performing schools in the country — have, upon pursuing professional careers of their own, sent their children to private school. Some of them have made great sacrifices to do so.

The results are plain to see, with growing cohorts of successful professionals from once-deprived backgrounds working in medicine, law, engineering and finance. For those with the right aspirations, it only takes a generation or two to climb that social ladder.

But it is not for everyone. I don’t believe attending private school is a necessity. Indeed, many of my peers have shown that this is absolutely not the case. An acquaintance from college, whose father owned an Indian restaurant and attended the local state comprehensive school, has far surpassed me in pursuing a professional career, as have all their siblings.

I suppose, in the end, it all comes down to aspirations. What are you seeking in life? While we ourselves cannot afford to send our children to private school, we nevertheless encourage them to work hard, to achieve their best, and contribute positively to society. In the end, perhaps that is all our children need: positive role models and encouragement.