List of prime ministers of the United Kingdom by education explained

A list of prime ministers of the United Kingdom and the educational institutions they attended., 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) 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.

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

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

Chancellor

The following Prime Ministers served as Chancellor of their university:

Cambridge:

• Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle (1748–1768)
• Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton (1768–1811)
• Arthur Balfour, 1st Earl Balfour (1919–1930)
• Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (1930–1947)

Oxford:

• Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (1772–1792)
• William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland (1792–1809)
• William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville (1809–1834)
• Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby (1852–1869)
• Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (1869–1903)
• Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton (1960–1986)

Member of Parliament

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

Cambridge

• William Pitt the Younger (1784–1806)
• Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (1811–1831)

Oxford

• Robert Peel (1817–1829)
• William Ewart Gladstone (1847–1865)

See also

• List of presidents of the United States by education
• List of prime ministers of Australia by education
• List of prime ministers of Canada by academic degrees
• List of presidents of the Philippines by education
• List of first ministers of Scotland by education

Notes and References

1. Web site: Rishi Sunak set to be PM as penny Mordaunt drops out of leadership race . 2022-10-24 . BBC News . en-gb.
2. 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."
3. Web site: Schotse oud-student werd premier van Engeland. Groninger Gezinsbode. 15 November 2012. nl. 29 June 2019.
4. Gillan. Caroline. 2018. Lord Bute and eighteenth-century science and patronage. NUI Galway: PhD Theses. 44. 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.. NUI Galway. Thesis.
5. Watson-Wentworth, Charles. Rigg. J. M.. 60. — 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.
6. Book: Williams, Basil. Basil Williams (historian). The Life of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham. 1. 39. 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.. 978-1-136-62559-6. 2014-01-14. Routledge .
7. North. Lord. May 1903. Lord North, the Prime Minister. The North American Review. 176. 556. 781. 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.. 25119408.
8. Book: Whiteley, Peter. 1996. Lord North: The Prime Minister Who Lost America. 11–14. A & C Black. 27 June 2019. 978-1-85285-145-3.
9. 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."
10. Web site: Petty, William Fitzmaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne (1737–1805). University of Toronto Libraries. 28 June 2019.
11. Alumni Oxonienses. Bentinck, William Henry Cavendish, Marquis of Titchfield (1). Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715-1886. Foster. Joseph. Joseph Foster (genealogist).
12. Pitt the Younger was tutored at home, until entering Cambridge a month before turning 14.
13. Alumni Oxonienses. Addington, Henry (1). Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715-1886. Foster. Joseph. Joseph Foster (genealogist).
14. Alumni Oxonienses. Canning, George (1). Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715-1886. Foster. Joseph. Joseph Foster (genealogist).
15. Book: Torrens, William McCullach. William McCullagh Torrens. 1878. London. Macmillan. Memoirs of the Right Honourable William, Second Viscount Melbourne. 1. 39. 28 June 2019.
16. Book: Reid, Stuart J.. 1895. Lord John Russell. 12–13. 28 June 2019.
17. Book: Hawkins, Angus. 2007. The Forgotten Prime Minister: The 14th Earl of Derby. I: Ascent, 1799-1851. 19–22. Oxford. Oxford University Press. 26 June 2019. 978-0-19-920440-3.
18. Web site: Viscount Palmerston (1784 – 1865). University of Edinburgh. 28 June 2017. 26 June 2019.
19. Book: Thomas, Amanda J.. 2010. The Lambeth Cholera Outbreak of 1848-1849. 54. McFarland . 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.. 978-0-7864-5714-4.
20. Rosebery, Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of.
21. Web site: Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman. University of Glasgow: The University of Glasgow Story. 25 June 2019.
22. Web site: Andrew Bonar Law. University of Glasgow: The University of Glasgow Story. 23 June 2019.
23. Web site: Notable Birkbeckians. Birkbeck, University of London. 23 June 2019. Ramsay MacDonald studied science, botany, agriculture, mathematics, and physics at Birkbeck in the latter part of the nineteenth century..
24. Web site: Radical Beginnings, Inspiring Traditions. Google Arts & Culture: Birkbeck, University of London. 1 July 2019. Ramsay MacDonald was a student at Birkbeck from 1886-1887, forging a lifelong passion for the arts..
25. Book: Self, Robert. 2017. Neville Chamberlain: A Biography. Routledge . 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.. 978-1-351-91516-8.
26. Web site: Clement Attlee Memorial Lecture 2019. University College, Oxford. 29 June 2019.
27. Moore. Peter G.. 1996. Obituary: James Harold Wilson 1916-95. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. 159. 1. 165–173. 2983476. 10.1111/j.1467-985X.1996.tb00710.x.
28. Web site: Harold Wilson proclamation. University College, Oxford. 29 June 2019.
29. PhD . Brown. Gordon. 1982. The Labour Party and political change in Scotland 1918–1929: the politics of five elections . University of Edinburgh . 1842/7136 . free.
30. Web site: The Rector of the University. University of Edinburgh. 3 July 2019.
31. Web site: Riley. Oriana. 24 October 2022. The Stanford Daily. Former Stanford MBA student selected UK's next prime minister. 15 November 2022.