Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of officer candidates are privately educated.

Officer training in the UK Armed Forces is accessible to any UK citizen who meets the academic, aptitude, physical and medical requirements, irrespective of the candidate’s social background or type of education.

Of the intake to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (Army) who are due to commission on 10 April 2026, 37% were independently educated. No other information in scope of these questions is held by the single Services.