Worksheet 7: The British Class System

The British Classes:

1. Class: upper class

Dialect: Received Pronunciation
Information: Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of
people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members
of class society, and wield the greatest political power.
2. Class: upper middle class
Dialect: Received Pronunciation
Information: In sociology, the upper middle class is the social group
constituted by higher status members of the middle class.
3. Class: middle class
Dialect: Received Pronunciation
Information: The middle class is a class of people in the middle of a social
hierarchy.
4. Class: lower middle class
Dialect: Received pronunciation
Information: Lower middle class households or individuals who have not
attained the status of the upper middle class associated with the higher
realms of the middle class, hence the name.
5. Class: skilled working
Dialect: Received pronunciation
Information: This class of people would be in skilled industrial jobs or
tradesmen, traditionally in the construction and manufacturing industry, but in
recent decades showing entrepreneurial development as the stereotypical
white van man, or self-employed contractors.
6. Class: unskilled and semi-skilled working
Dialect: Cockney accents
Information: Traditionally, these people would have worked as manual
labourers. They would typically have left school as soon as legally permissible
and not have been able to take part in higher education.
7. Class: underclass
Dialect: Cockney accents
Information: The term "underclass" is used to refer to those people who are
"chronically unemployed", and in many instances have been for generations.

Video: How Big A Role Does Class Play in Modern Britain?

1. Which British class do you think Richard Bailey belongs to? Why do you think that?

Skilled working class. He can engineering Gondola and can row it. That needs
skillful.

2. Which British class do you think April and David Gladstone belong to? Why?
 Upper class. They have a big house and land also they enjoy their private social
meeting.

3. Which British class does Adam Bluer belong to? Why?

Underclass. He has actually bee homeless on and off since he was 17. Also it is
harder for him to find a job so he just sell the ‘Big Issue’ instead in it.

4. Which British class do Becky and James Salter belong to? Why?

Lower middle class. James Salter is hairstylist so he earn money by cuts people’s
hair. He is Working class but his background is middle class. His family from Sweden
is Swedish nobility. Also Becky has her own work which take care about baby.

5. Which British class does Philippa Farrow belong to? Why?

I think she is middle class. She has her own cinema that is oldest in Oxford built in
1911.