7Up video - Age 28

Today we saw what happened to 3 of the children after 21 years.

The first to discuss is Paul. Paul went to a charity boarding school. He did not seem very knowledgeable at age seven, for example he didn't know what university was, and he wanted to be a policeman however found out it would be too hard to do. At 28 Paul was now in Australia, and was a bricklayer (subcontractor). He was married to a hairdresser and they had 2 children. They were considered middle class or potentially upper-middle class. Paul had moved into the contest system which allowed him to move up to the position he was currently in. Had he stayed in England I don't believe he would have been experiencing the same sort of success and mobility in society. At 7 we saw Paul building a house in the playground which could have been a predictor of his future if that had been something he was truly interested in. It is definitely neat to see how these kids turn out. I'm really happy Paul made it out of the sponsorship system and is making a better life for himself.

Suzy went to a private girls boarding school and was upper class. She was quite prissy as a seven year old and definitely acknowledged the fact that she was "above" many people. She already had that attitude of an elite member. She hated prep school when she was younger and ended up leaving school at age 16 to go to Paris. She went to secretarial and had a job by the time she was 21. She said she didn't want to get married or have kids and was a chain smoker. However two years later she was married and at 28 had 2 kids. She was a stay at home mom and married a wealthy man. Even though she didn't like private school she would have her kids go to private school when they were 13. She thinks it's different I suppose if they go at that age instead of 8 like her. I think part of her rebellion as a teen and still when she was 21 was because she was in the sponsorship system and was a member of the elite. Therefore she didn't have to worry about money or what would happen if she went off and did something else. I suppose that is one good thing about the system if you are in the elite. From the way she acted when she was younger I would say it was predictable she would have ended up with a rich man. However most of us thought she would have went to university. I think a lot of kids are like that though that are privileged when they are younger and go to private school (although I wouldn't necessarily consider it to be a privilege myself). They think they can do anything and don't really care about the consequences. Suzy definitely followed the sponsorship mobility model.

Nicholas was a lucky and smart boy. He was a farm lower class boy and wanted to learn about the moon at age seven. He was recognized as gifted after taking the 11+ exam and therefore was sent to boarding school which allowed him to eventually study at Oxford. He studied physics and by the age of 28 had obtained his PHD and was a nuclear physicist, teaching as a professor in the US. He was very successful and an extremely smart man. He also like Paul escaped the sponsorship system and moved over to the contest system. However Nick was at the top of the contest system when he moved to the US. He didn't realize how much he cared about money until this move. He was married however is relationship seemed to be rather rocky as his wife was an academic as well and they had mixed views about what would happen if they had kids. I was so happy to see Nick so successful. I think it's interesting he also pursued the interests he had when he was only 7. I'm curious to see where he ends up later on.