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List of prime ministers of the United Kingdom by education

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A list of prime ministers of the United Kingdom and the educational institutions they attended. As of July 2024, of the 58 prime ministers to date, 31 were educated at the University of Oxford (including 13 at Christ Church), and 14 at the University of Cambridge (including six at Trinity College). Three attended the University of Edinburgh, three the University of Glasgow, two Mason Science College, a predecessor institution of the University of Birmingham, and one - the incumbent prime minister Keir Starmer - the University of Leeds. John Major was (as of 2024) the last of the eight prime ministers who did not attend university after leaving secondary education. A number of the prime ministers who attended university never graduated. Oxford gained its 29th prime-ministerial alumnus when Liz Truss succeeded Boris Johnson in September 2022, and its 30th - and fifth consecutive - a month later in Rishi Sunak.[1] Starmer followed his undergraduate degree at Leeds with a postgraduate Bachelor of Civil Law degree at Oxford.

Universities attended by British prime ministers
University Number of prime ministers
University of Oxford
31
University of Cambridge
14
University of Edinburgh
3
University of Glasgow
3
Other university in UK
4
University outside UK
5
No university
8
A bar chart of universities attended by British prime ministers.

Twenty prime ministers were schooled at Eton College, of whom nine were educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, including all three who held office between 1880 and 1902 (Gladstone, Salisbury, Rosebery). Seven were educated at Harrow School and six at Westminster School. Rishi Sunak was the second to be educated at Winchester College. Eleven prime ministers to date have been educated at only non-fee-paying schools; these include all five who held office between 1964 and 1997 (Wilson, Heath, Callaghan, Thatcher, Major). Theresa May was educated at both independent and grammar schools. Three did not receive (primary or secondary) school education and were homeschooled during childhood.

Sixteen Prime ministers trained as barristers at the Inns of Court, including 12 at Lincoln's Inn (although not all were called to the bar). Two (Wellington and Churchill) completed officer training at military academies.

Although William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath (in 1746) and James Waldegrave, 2nd Earl Waldegrave (in 1757) briefly attempted to form governments, neither is usually counted as prime minister. They are not listed below.

List of British prime ministers by education

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Prime Minister Term of office School University Degree Professional training
Walpole, RobertRobert Walpole 1721–1742 Eton College Cambridge (King's Coll.) 1696–98, did not graduate (LL.D. 1728)[2]
Compton, SpencerSpencer Compton
Earl of Wilmington 		1742–1743 St Paul's School Oxford (Trinity Coll.) 1690–?, did not graduate (D.C.L. 1730)[3] Inns of Court: Middle Temple
Pelham, HenryHenry Pelham 1743–1754 Westminster School Cambridge (King's Coll.) 1709–10[4]
Oxford (Hart Hall) 1710–?, did not graduate[5]
Pelham-Holles, ThomasThomas Pelham-Holles
Duke of Newcastle 		1754–1756
1757–1762 		Westminster School Cambridge (Clare Coll.) 1710–?, did not graduate (LL.D. 1728)[6]
Cavendish, WilliamWilliam Cavendish
Duke of Devonshire 		1756–1757 —[7] — —
Stuart, JohnJohn Stuart
Earl of Bute 		1762–1763 Eton College Groningen University Civil law
1730–32[8]
Leiden University Civil law
1732–34, graduated 1734[9]
Grenville, GeorgeGeorge Grenville 1763–1765 Eton College Oxford (Christ Church) 1730–?, did not graduate[10] Inns of Court: Inner Temple
Watson-Wentworth, CharlesCharles Watson-Wentworth
Marquess of Rockingham 		1765–1766
1782 		Westminster School —[11] —
Pitt, William 1William Pitt the Elder
Earl of Chatham 		1766–1768 Eton College Oxford (Trinity Coll.) 1727–28, did not graduate[12]
Utrecht University 1728[13]
FitzRoy, AugustusAugustus FitzRoy
Duke of Grafton 		1768–1770 Westminster School Cambridge (Peterhouse) 1751–53, M.A. 1753[14]
North, FrederickFrederick North 1770–1782 Eton College Oxford (Trinity Coll.) 1749–50, M.A. 1750[15]
Leipzig University 1751–52[16][17]
Petty, WilliamWilliam Petty (FitzMaurice)
Earl of Shelburne 		1782–1783 —[18] Oxford (Christ Church) 1755–57, did not graduate[19][20]
Cavendish-Bentinck, WilliamWilliam Cavendish-Bentinck
Duke of Portland 		1783
1807–1809 		Westminster School Oxford (Christ Church) 1755–57, M.A. 1757[21]
Pitt, William 2William Pitt the Younger 1783–1801
1804–1806 		—[22] Cambridge (Pembroke Coll.) 1773–76, M.A. 1776[23]
Addington, HenryHenry Addington 1801–1804 Winchester College Oxford (Brasenose Coll.) 1774–78, B.A. 1778 (M.A. 1780)[24] Inns of Court: Lincoln's Inn
Grenville, WilliamWilliam Grenville
Lord Grenville 		1806–1807 Eton College Oxford (Christ Church) 1776–80, B.A. 1780[25] Inns of Court: Lincoln's Inn
Perceval, SpencerSpencer Perceval 1809–1812 Harrow School Cambridge (Trinity Coll.) 1780–82, M.A. 1782[26] Inns of Court: Lincoln's Inn
Jenkinson, RobertRobert Jenkinson
Earl of Liverpool 		1812–1827 Charterhouse School Oxford (Christ Church) 1787–90, M.A. 1790[27]
Canning, GeorgeGeorge Canning 1827 Eton College Oxford (Christ Church) 1787–91, B.A. 1791 (M.A. 1794)[28]
Robinson, Frederick JohnFrederick J. Robinson
Viscount Goderich 		1827–1828 Harrow School Cambridge (St John's Coll.) 1799–1802, M.A. 1802[29]
Wellesley, ArthurArthur Wellesley
Duke of Wellington 		1828–1830
1834 		Eton College — — French Royal Academy of Equitation, Angers
Grey, CharlesCharles Grey
Earl Grey 		1830–1834 Eton College Cambridge (Trinity Coll.) 1781–83, did not graduate[30]
Lamb, WilliamWilliam Lamb
Viscount Melbourne 		1834
1835–1841 		Eton College Cambridge (Trinity Coll.) 1796–99, M.A. 1799[31] Inns of Court: Lincoln's Inn
Glasgow University Resident pupil of Prof. John Millar
1799–1801[32]
Peel, RobertRobert Peel 1834–1835
1841–1846 		Harrow School Oxford (Christ Church) Classics and Mathematics
1805–08, B.A. 1808 (M.A. 1814)[33] 		Inns of Court: Lincoln's Inn
Russell, JohnJohn Russell
Earl Russell 		1846–1852
1865–1866 		Westminster School Edinburgh University Resident pupil of Prof. John Playfair
1809–12[34]
Smith-Stanley, EdwardEdward Smith-Stanley
Earl of Derby 		1852
1858–1859
1866–1868 		Eton College Oxford (Christ Church) Classics
1817–20, did not graduate[35][36]
Hamilton-Gordon, GeorgeGeorge Hamilton-Gordon
Earl of Aberdeen 		1852–1855 Harrow School Cambridge (St John's Coll.) 1800–04, M.A. 1804[37]
Temple, Henry JohnHenry John Temple
Viscount Palmerston 		1855–1858
1859–1865 		Harrow School Edinburgh University Resident pupil of Prof. Dugald Stewart
1800–03[38][39]
Cambridge (St John's Coll.) 1803–06, M.A. 1806[40]
Disraeli, BenjaminBenjamin Disraeli
Earl of Beaconsfield 		1868
1874–1880 		Dr Cogan's School, Walthamstow — — Inns of Court: Lincoln's Inn
Gladstone, WilliamWilliam Ewart Gladstone 1868–1874
1880–1885
1886
1892–1894 		Eton College Oxford (Christ Church) Classics and Mathematics
1828–32: B.A. 1832 (M.A. 1834)[41] 		Inns of Court: Lincoln's Inn
Gascoyne-Cecil, RobertRobert Gascoyne-Cecil
Marquess of Salisbury 		1885–1886
1886–1892
1895–1902 		Eton College Oxford (Christ Church) Mathematics
1847–50, B.A. 1850 (M.A. 1853),
Fellow of All Souls Coll. 1853[42] 		Inns of Court: Lincoln's Inn
Primrose, ArchibaldArchibald Primrose
Earl of Rosebery 		1894–1895 Eton College Oxford (Christ Church) 1866–68, did not graduate[43][44]
Balfour, ArthurArthur Balfour 1902–1905 Eton College Cambridge (Trinity Coll.) Moral Sciences
1866–70, B.A. 1870 (M.A. 1874)[45]
Campbell-Bannerman, HenryHenry Campbell-Bannerman 1905–1908 High School of Glasgow Glasgow University Greek and Logic
1851–53[46]
Cambridge (Trinity Coll.) Classics
1854–58, B.A. 1858 (M.A. 1861)[47]
Asquith, Herbert HenryH. H. Asquith 1908–1916 City of London School Oxford (Balliol Coll.) Classics
1870–74, B.A. 1874, Fellow 1874–82[48] 		Inns of Court: Lincoln's Inn
Lloyd George, DavidDavid Lloyd George 1916–1922 Llanystumdwy National School — — Solicitor
Law, BonarBonar Law 1922–1923 High School of Glasgow Glasgow University Extramural student
1879–80[49]
Baldwin, StanleyStanley Baldwin 1923–1924
1924–1929
1935–1937 		Harrow School Cambridge (Trinity Coll.) History
1885–88, B.A. 1888 (M.A. 1892)[50]
Mason College Metallurgy
Macdonald, RamsayRamsay MacDonald 1924
1929–1935 		Drainie Parish School Birkbeck Literary and Scientific Institution Extramural student
1886–87[51][52]
Chamberlain, NevilleNeville Chamberlain 1937–1940 Rugby School Mason College Metallurgy
1887–89[53]
Churchill, WinstonWinston Churchill 1940–1945
1951–1955 		Harrow School — — RMC Sandhurst
Attlee, ClementClement Attlee 1945–1951 Haileybury College Oxford (University Coll.) Modern History
1901–04, B.A. 1904 (M.A.)[54] 		Inns of Court: Inner Temple
Eden, AnthonyAnthony Eden 1955–1957 Eton College Oxford (Christ Church) Persian and Arabic
1919–22, B.A. 1922 (M.A.)
Macmillan, HaroldHarold Macmillan 1957–1963 Eton College Oxford (Balliol Coll.) Classics
1912–14, did not graduate
Douglas-Home, AlecAlec Douglas-Home
Earl of Home 		1963–1964 Eton College Oxford (Christ Church) Modern History
1922–25, B.A. 1925 (M.A.)
Wilson, HaroldHarold Wilson 1964–1970
1974–1976 		Royds Hall Grammar School;
Wirral Grammar School for Boys 		Oxford (Jesus Coll.) PPE (transferred from Modern History)[55]
1934–37, B.A. 1937 (M.A.)
Fellow of University Coll. 1938–45[56]
Heath, EdwardEdward Heath 1970–1974 Chatham House Grammar School Oxford (Balliol Coll.) PPE
1935–39, B.A. 1939 (M.A.)
Callaghan, JamesJames Callaghan 1976–1979 Northern Secondary School, Portsmouth — — Civil Service: Inland Revenue
Thatcher, MargaretMargaret Thatcher 1979–1990 Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School Oxford (Somerville Coll.) Chemistry
1943–47, B.A. 1947 (M.A. 1950) 		Inns of Court: Lincoln's Inn
Major, JohnJohn Major 1990–1997 Rutlish School — — Correspondence course in banking
Blair, TonyTony Blair 1997–2007 Fettes College Oxford (St John's Coll.) Law
1972–75, B.A. 1975 (M.A.) 		Inns of Court: Lincoln's Inn
Brown, GordonGordon Brown 2007–2010 Kirkcaldy High School Edinburgh University History
1967–82, M.A. 1972, Ph.D. 1982,[57]
University Rector 1972–75[58]
Cameron, DavidDavid Cameron 2010–2016 Eton College Oxford (Brasenose Coll.) PPE
1985–88, B.A. 1988 (M.A.)
May, TheresaTheresa May 2016–2019 Holton Park Girls' Grammar School Oxford (St Hugh's Coll.) Geography
1974–77, B.A. 1977 (M.A.)
Johnson, BorisBoris Johnson 2019–2022 Eton College Oxford (Balliol Coll.) Classics
1983–87, B.A. 1987 (M.A.)
Truss, LizLiz Truss 2022 Roundhay School Oxford (Merton Coll.) PPE
1993–96, B.A.
Rishi Sunak 2022–2024 Winchester College Oxford (Lincoln Coll.) PPE
1998–2001, B.A.
Stanford University Business administration
2004–06, M.B.A. 2006[59]
Keir Starmer 2024–present Reigate Grammar School Leeds University Law
1982–85, LL.B. 1985 		Inns of Court: Middle Temple
Oxford (St Edmund Hall) Law
1985–86, B.C.L. 1986
Prime Minister Term of office School University Degree Professional training

University offices held

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Chancellor

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The following Prime Ministers served as Chancellor of their university:

Cambridge:

Oxford:

Member of Parliament

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The following Prime Ministers served as MP for the university constituency for their university:

Cambridge:

Oxford:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Rishi Sunak set to be PM as penny Mordaunt drops out of leadership race". BBC News. Retrieved 2022-10-24.
  2. ^ "Walpole, Robert (WLPL695R)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  3. ^ Foster, Joseph (1888–1892). "Compton, Spencer" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
  4. ^ "Pelham, Henry (PLHN709H)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  5. ^ Foster, Joseph (1888–1892). "Pelham, Henry (2)" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1500–1714. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
  6. ^ "Pelham, Thomas (PLHN709T)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  7. ^ 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."
  8. ^ "Schotse oud-student werd premier van Engeland". Groninger Gezinsbode (in Dutch). 15 November 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  9. ^ Gillan, Caroline (2018). Lord Bute and eighteenth-century science and patronage. NUI Galway: PhD Theses (Thesis). NUI Galway. p. 44. Retrieved 29 June 2019. He left Eton College in 1730, and subsequently travelled to the Netherlands where he too pursued civil law, first attending Groningen University, before moving to Leiden University in 1732. After spending two years in Leiden, Bute left in March 1734 with a degree in civil law.
  10. ^ Foster, Joseph (1888–1892). "Grenville, George" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
  11. ^ Rigg, J. M. (1899). "Watson-Wentworth, Charles" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 60. London: Smith, Elder & Co. — has Rockingham 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.
  12. ^ Foster, Joseph (1888–1892). "Pitt, William (1)" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
  13. ^ Williams, Basil (2014-01-14). The Life of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham. Vol. 1. Routledge. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-136-62559-6. Retrieved 27 June 2019. In the following year [1728] he went to Utrecht, where he probably acquired the knowledge he afterwards displayed of Grotius and other writers on international law and diplomacy. How long he studied at Utrecht is not known; he was certainly there during the first quarter of 1728, in company with his cousin Lord Villiers and Lord Buchan and two other Erskines.
  14. ^ "FitzRoy, Augustus Henry (FTSY751AH)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  15. ^ Foster, Joseph (1888–1892). "North, Frederick (2)" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
  16. ^ North, Lord (May 1903). "Lord North, the Prime Minister". The North American Review. 176 (556): 781. JSTOR 25119408. At Leipzig he made a long stay for a course of studies under the celebrated Mascow, whose lectures on the "Present State of Europe in Respect to Politics" gave him especial interest.
  17. ^ Whiteley, Peter (1996). Lord North: The Prime Minister Who Lost America. A & C Black. pp. 11–14. ISBN 978-1-85285-145-3. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  18. ^ 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."
  19. ^ Foster, Joseph (1888–1892). "FitzMaurice, William" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
  20. ^ "Petty, William Fitzmaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne (1737–1805)". University of Toronto Libraries. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  21. ^ Foster, Joseph. "Bentinck, William Henry Cavendish, Marquis of Titchfield (1)" . Alumni Oxonienses  – via Wikisource.
  22. ^ Pitt the Younger was tutored at home, until entering Cambridge a month before turning 14.
  23. ^ "Pitt, Hon. William (PT773W)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  24. ^ Foster, Joseph. "Addington, Henry (1)" . Alumni Oxonienses  – via Wikisource.
  25. ^ Foster, Joseph (1888–1892). "Grenville, William (Wyndham)" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
  26. ^ "Perceval, Hon. Spencer (PRCL780S)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  27. ^ Foster, Joseph (1888–1892). "Jenkinson, Robert Bankes" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
  28. ^ Foster, Joseph. "Canning, George (1)" . Alumni Oxonienses  – via Wikisource.
  29. ^ "Robinson, Hon. Frederick John (RBN799FJ)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  30. ^ "Grey, Charles (GRY781C)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  31. ^ "Lamb, Hon. Henry William (LM796HW)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
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  34. ^ Reid, Stuart J. (1895). Lord John Russell. pp. 12–13. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  35. ^ Foster, Joseph (1888–1892). "Stanley, Edward Geoffrey Smith" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
  36. ^ Hawkins, Angus (2007). The Forgotten Prime Minister: The 14th Earl of Derby. Vol. I: Ascent, 1799–1851. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 19–22. ISBN 978-0-19-920440-3. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  37. ^ "Gordon, George Hamilton (Lord Haddo) (GRDN800GH)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  38. ^ "Viscount Palmerston (1784 – 1865)". University of Edinburgh. 28 June 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  39. ^ Thomas, Amanda J. (2010). The Lambeth Cholera Outbreak of 1848-1849. McFarland. p. 54. ISBN 978-0-7864-5714-4. Retrieved 28 June 2019. Palmerston had gone to Edinburgh to study under Duglad Stewart (1753–1828), professor of moral philosophy; Palmerston had also lodged with him.
  40. ^ "Palmerston, Henry John (Temple), Viscount (PLMN803HJ)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
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  42. ^ Foster, Joseph (1888–1892). "Cecil, Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoigne" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
  43. ^ Foster, Joseph (1888–1892). "Primrose, Archibald Philip, Baron Dalmeny" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
  44. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Rosebery, Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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  47. ^ "Campbell [post Campbell Bannerman], Henry (CMBL854H)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
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  50. ^ "Baldwin, Stanley (BLDN885S)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  51. ^ "Notable Birkbeckians". Birkbeck, University of London. Retrieved 23 June 2019. Ramsay MacDonald studied science, botany, agriculture, mathematics, and physics at Birkbeck in the latter part of the nineteenth century.
  52. ^ "Radical Beginnings, Inspiring Traditions". Google Arts & Culture: Birkbeck, University of London. Retrieved 1 July 2019. Ramsay MacDonald was a student at Birkbeck from 1886-1887, forging a lifelong passion for the arts.
  53. ^ Self, Robert (2017). Neville Chamberlain: A Biography. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-91516-8. Retrieved 29 June 2019. After Rugby, his father decided that Neville should attend Mason College, the forerunner of Birmingham University, undertaking a course of metallurgy, mathematics and engineering for two years as a preparation for a career in the Birmingham metal industry.
  54. ^ "Clement Attlee Memorial Lecture 2019". University College, Oxford. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  55. ^ Moore, Peter G. (1996). "Obituary: James Harold Wilson 1916-95". Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. 159 (1): 165–173. doi:10.1111/j.1467-985X.1996.tb00710.x. JSTOR 2983476.
  56. ^ "Harold Wilson proclamation". University College, Oxford. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  57. ^ Brown, Gordon (1982). The Labour Party and political change in Scotland 1918–1929: the politics of five elections (PhD thesis). University of Edinburgh. hdl:1842/7136.
  58. ^ "The Rector of the University". University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  59. ^ Riley, Oriana (24 October 2022). "Former Stanford MBA student selected UK's next prime minister". The Stanford Daily. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
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