List of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom by education

This list of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom lists each Prime Minister by educational institutions attended.

As of October 2016, of the 54 Prime Ministers to date, 19 were educated at Eton College, seven at Harrow School, and seven at Westminster School. Nine Prime Ministers to date have been educated at non-fee-paying schools; these include all five Prime Ministers to hold office between 1964 and 1997 (Wilson, Heath, Callaghan, Thatcher, Major).

27 Prime Ministers were educated at the University of Oxford (including 13 at Christ Church, Oxford), and 14 at the University of Cambridge (including 6 at Trinity College, Cambridge). Nine Prime Ministers were educated at Eton and Christ Church, including all three Prime Ministers to hold office between 1880 and 1902 (Gladstone, Salisbury, Rosebery).

Three Prime Ministers attended the University of Edinburgh, two attended the University of Glasgow, and two attended Mason Science College, a predecessor institution of the University of Birmingham. John Major was (as of 2015) the last Prime Minister not to have attended university.

Eleven Prime Ministers trained as barristers at the Inns of Court, including eight at Lincoln's Inn (including Disraeli, who attended but did not complete studies). Two Prime Ministers (Wellington and Churchill) completed officer training at military academies.

The Earl of Bute (Leiden Univ.):
the only Prime Minister to attend a university outside the UK without having attended a UK university. 
William Pitt the Younger (Pembroke, Cambridge): home schooled; went to Cambridge aged 14, graduated at 17, MP at 21, Prime Minister at 24. 
W. E. Gladstone (Eton, Christ Church, Lincoln's Inn): attended the three institutions with most alumni Prime Ministers. 
Margaret Thatcher (Somerville, Oxford): the first female PM, educated at an all-female school and college; studied Chemistry, the only PM with a science degree. 
Gordon Brown (Edinburgh Univ.): the only Prime Minister to complete a PhD. Served as Rector of Edinburgh University 1973–76, while still a student. 

List of Prime Ministers of the UK by Education

Prime Minister Term of office School University Professional Training
Robert Walpole 1721–1742 Eton College Cambridge (King's Coll.)
Spencer Compton
Earl of Wilmington		 1742–1743 St Paul's School Oxford (Trinity Coll.) Inns of Court: Middle Temple
Henry Pelham 1743–1754 Westminster School Oxford (Hart Hall)
Thomas Pelham-Holles
Duke of Newcastle		 1754–1756
1757–1762		 Westminster School Cambridge (Clare Coll.)
William Cavendish
Duke of Devonshire		 1756–1757 —[1] —
John Stuart
Earl of Bute		 1762–1763 Eton College Leiden University
George Grenville 1763–1765 Eton College Oxford (Christ Church) Inns of Court: Inner Temple
Charles Watson-Wentworth
Marquess of Rockingham		 1765–1766
1782 		Westminster School Cambridge (St John's Coll.)?[2]
William Pitt the Elder
Earl of Chatham		 1766–1768 Eton College Oxford (Trinity Coll.);
Utrecht University[3]
Augustus FitzRoy
Duke of Grafton		 1768–1770 Westminster School Cambridge (Peterhouse)
Frederick North 1770–1782 Eton College Oxford (Trinity Coll.);
Leipzig University
William Petty
Earl of Shelburne		 1782–1783 —[4] Oxford (Christ Church)
William Cavendish-Bentinck
Duke of Portland		 1783
1807–1809		 Westminster School Oxford (Christ Church)
William Pitt the Younger 1783–1801
1804–1806		 —[5] Cambridge (Pembroke Coll.) Inns of Court: Lincoln's Inn
Henry Addington 1801–1804 Winchester College Oxford (Brasenose Coll.) Inns of Court: Lincoln's Inn
William Grenville
Lord Grenville		 1806–1807 Eton College Oxford (Christ Church)
Spencer Perceval 1809–1812 Harrow School Cambridge (Trinity Coll.) Inns of Court: Lincoln's Inn
Robert Jenkinson
Earl of Liverpool		 1812–1827 Charterhouse School Oxford (Christ Church)
George Canning 1827 Eton College Oxford (Christ Church)
Frederick J. Robinson
Viscount Goderich		 1827–1828 Harrow School Cambridge (St John's Coll.)
Arthur Wellesley
Duke of Wellington		 1828–1830
1834 		Eton College — French Royal Academy of Equitation, Angers
Charles Grey
Earl Grey		 1830–1834 Eton College Cambridge (Trinity Coll.)
William Lamb
Viscount Melbourne		 1834
1835–1841		 Eton College Cambridge (Trinity Coll.)
Robert Peel 1834–1835
1841–1846		 Bury Grammar School;
Harrow School		 Oxford (Christ Church)
John Russell
Earl Russell		 1846–1852
1865–1866		 Westminster School Edinburgh University
Edward Smith-Stanley
Earl of Derby		 1852
1858–1859
1866–1868		 Eton College Oxford (Christ Church)
George Hamilton-Gordon
Earl of Aberdeen		 1852–1855 Harrow School Cambridge (St John's Coll.)
Henry John Temple
Viscount Palmerston		 1855–1858
1859–1865		 Harrow School Edinburgh University;
Cambridge (St John's Coll.)
Benjamin Disraeli
Earl of Beaconsfield		 1868
1874–1880		 Dr Cogan's School, Walthamstow — Inns of Court: Lincoln's Inn
William Ewart Gladstone 1868–1874
1880–1885
1886
1892–1894		 Eton College Oxford (Christ Church) Inns of Court: Lincoln's Inn
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil
Marquess of Salisbury		 1885–1886
1886–1892
1895–1902		 Eton College Oxford (Christ Church)
Archibald Primrose
Earl of Rosebery		 1894–1895 Eton College Oxford (Christ Church)
Arthur Balfour 1902–1905 Eton College Cambridge (Trinity Coll.)
Henry Campbell-Bannerman 1905–1908 High School of Glasgow Glasgow University;
Cambridge (Trinity Coll.)
Herbert Henry Asquith 1908–1916 City of London School Oxford (Balliol Coll.) Inns of Court: Lincoln's Inn
David Lloyd George 1916–1922 Llanystumdwy National School —
Andrew Bonar Law 1922–1923 High School of Glasgow Glasgow University
Stanley Baldwin 1923–1924
1924–1929
1935–1937		 Harrow School Cambridge (Trinity Coll.);
Mason Science College, Birmingham
Ramsay MacDonald 1924
1929–1935		 Drainie School —
Neville Chamberlain 1937–1940 Rugby School Mason Science College, Birmingham
Winston Churchill 1940–1945
1951–1955		 Harrow School — RMC Sandhurst
Clement Attlee 1945–1951 Haileybury College Oxford (University Coll.) Inns of Court: Inner Temple
Anthony Eden 1955–1957 Eton College Oxford (Christ Church)
Harold Macmillan 1957–1963 Eton College Oxford (Balliol Coll.)
Alec Douglas-Home
Earl of Home		 1963–1964 Eton College Oxford (Christ Church)
Harold Wilson 1964–1970
1974–1976		 Royds Hall Grammar School;
Wirral Grammar School for Boys		 Oxford (Jesus Coll.)
Edward Heath 1970–1974 Chatham House Grammar School Oxford (Balliol Coll.)
James Callaghan 1976–1979 Northern Secondary School, Portsmouth — Civil Service: Inland Revenue
Margaret Thatcher 1979–1990 Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School Oxford (Somerville Coll.) Inns of Court: Lincoln's Inn
John Major 1990–1997 Rutlish School — Correspondence course in banking
Tony Blair 1997–2007 Fettes College Oxford (St John's Coll.) Inns of Court: Lincoln's Inn
Gordon Brown 2007–2010 Kirkcaldy High School Edinburgh University
David Cameron 2010–2016 Eton College Oxford (Brasenose Coll.)
Theresa May 2016– Holton Park Girls' Grammar School Oxford (St Hugh's Coll.)
Prime Minister Term of office School University Professional Training

References

  1. ↑ Thompson, Andrew, History of Government: William Cavendish Duke of Devonshire: "Initially educated at home by tutors, he, like many young aristocrats of the period, completed his education by undertaking the Grand Tour to France and Italy."
  2. ↑ J. M. Rigg, 'Watson-Wentworth, Charles, second Marquis of Rockingham (1730–1782)', Dictionary of National Biography, 1899, has him attending St John's College, Cambridge. However, there is no mention of him in Alumni Cantabrigienses, and the DNB is not followed in this detail by the Oxford DNB.
  3. ↑ Pitt the Elder attended Utrecht 1728-1730.
  4. ↑ Bloy, Dr Marjorie, A Web of English History: "He appears not to have had much education: in his autobiography, he noted, "From the time I was four years old till I was fourteen, my education was neglected to the greatest degree". He was sent to an ordinary school and then was taught by a tutor until he went to Christ Church, Oxford in 1755."
  5. ↑ Pitt the Younger was tutored at home, until entering Cambridge at the early age of 14.
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