Clarissa Farr, head of Britain’s leading girls school, St Paul’s Girls in London, where fees are £22,000 a year, has attacked private boys schools for turning out young men with sexist attitudes. She has revealed that some of her former pupils are quitting top jobs in top companies early in their careers to escape a laddish culture. Old Paulinas include the actress Rachel Weisz, the former acting Labour leader Harriet Harman and the writer Rachel Johnson.

Farr said that sexism is “driving the girls out, they do not want to stay” several young women have complained about being mocked or frowned on by their managers because they have raised the concern of this ‘laddish culture’ of which the central ingredients are sexist attitudes, drink and football which prevails among young male employees and which excludes women.

She called on private boys schools to give their sixth form students lessons on how to take women seriously at work and university,  not just to indulge in banter about football, drinking and sex.

They need to be taught to have the confidence to take girls seriously in the work environment and not feel that they have to regress to this kind of behaviour.

Farr has also stated that she has been asking the boys fathers to help stamp out sexism.