I don't think there has been much discussion here about class differences and perceptions (ie Snobbery!)

The parents of my 12 yr olds (Middle School) spoke to me about their ideas for secondary schools for their children. Many used phrases such as "In that school the pupils look scruffy, swear and chew gum!" or, "That school has 'naice' students from a 'better class of family'."
Some intended to choose private education, as "They didn't want their children mixing with the dregs of society." I was often hard put to keep my mouth shut. The subjects/courses available seemed less important than the social ethos of a secondary school, and a wish to avoid certain types of people.
In UK, the 'class system' is still alive and well, and judgements are made the moment someone opens their mouth to speak. Accent, clothing, hairstyle, home address, even origins/parents' family are recognised at lightning speed and the person classified. I find this deplorable and while people say it's slowly changing, I still think it currently pertains.
Of course, it happens in reverse. The reason my father rejected the idea of my going as a scholarship boarder to Benenden (Princess Anne was later one of their pupils) was that he could see that my Cockney accent and working-class origins would probably have caused me to be ostracised.
Most of the MPs in Westminster are what my Norfolk friends would call "Roit posh!" and have never mixed with any class below their own. I suspect that some of them view the rest of us with contempt and as inferior. They've been to exclusive, expensive private schools (Eton etc) and probably Oxbridge, where they continue to cultivate their 'we are the Upper Crust' view of themselves.
Until this class system it completely outdated and obsolete, I don't reckon 'equality of opportunity' can ever be achieved, either in education or anything else.