Hasan Patel’s place at Eton will help break the vicious circle of privilege

When I picture an Etonian, a distinct image comes to mind. I think of a foppish, fair-haired boy, with a country house in one of the more fake-sounding “shires” (“Oh, you must visit our manor in Pompoushire”).

I don’t imagine a boy like Hasan Patel. The 16-year-old’s background is seriously unconventional for a prospective Etonian. He grew up on a council estate in east London, sharing a two-bedroom flat with his parents and brothers. His father lived in “abject poverty” in India before moving to the UK. He has spent his young life fighting for change; last year he became the youngest person ever to speak at a political party conference.

Ever since Patel, a self-confessed “Corbynista”, revealed that he had accepted a £76,000 scholarship to Eton, he’s been subjected to a string of abuse online. He says he’s been called a traitor, a hypocrite and a “selfish champagne socialist” for his decision to attend the historic boarding school.

Of course, it’s difficult to argue that the political principles of the left, that Patel claims to support, aren’t compromised by the private education system. Fee-paying schools are the cornerstone of social inequality. The fact that these institutions save hundreds of millions pounds in tax on account of their charitable status feels particularly perverse.

But we can’t expect one disadvantaged teenager to upend this country’s deeply entrenched social inequality all on his own. Of course Patel is going to jump at an opportunity like this one; a chance that might exponentially expand his horizons.

This is, after all, the school that has produced 19 of Britain’s prime ministers. That’s a scary statistic, and one that probably says more about the elitism of British politics than it does about the raw value of a boarding school education.

But Patel, a vocal activist, who is clearly keen to pioneer change in this country, can’t be blamed for being enticed by the school’s reputation.

Obviously, it’s a real problem when political figures don’t practise what they preach. But a 16-year-old from a BAME background from a council estate cannot be held to the same standards as a cabinet minister trotting his children off to private school.

Like all of us, Patel is having to forge a path within a corrupt, broken and unfair system. This will involve some moral compromises; but we need to look at the bigger picture, rather than forensically analysing and questioning the choices of a disadvantaged young man. He is an easier target than the intangible, ubiquitous “British establishment”. It’s tempting to mock his “double standards” and tell yourself you’re fighting the good fight. But real progress will arrive only when we stop harassing the victims of our unequal system, and start dismantling the system itself.

People of colour and people from working class backgrounds rarely bulldoze through society’s ranks and make their way to the top. This isn’t because of a lack of talent, it’s because, generally, they don’t have the same access to stepping stones.

We’re stuck in a vicious circle. The richest kids get the best education, the people with the best education get into politics, the people in politics have no desire to reinvent the system which served them so well.

But people like Patel have seen a different side of the world. They join this factory line of social advantage at a later stage, and they can, if they choose to, eventually offer a different perspective to those at the top.

Real revolution is unlikely to come through the courts of Eton College. But kids like Patel, who manage to circumvent cycles of privilege, have the resources and the impetus to bring about real change.

• Biba Kang is a freelance journalist based in London