Private school students have a better chance of being Olympic champions, claims Sir Steve Redgrave

The gold medallist's comments follow revelations the number of privately-educated Great British athletes has risen from 20 per cent in 2012 to 28 per cent this year

Sir Steve Redgrave, who holds the men's record for Most Olympic Rowing Gold Medals (Rex Features)

Privately educated pupils have a better chance of becoming Olympic athletes than their state-educated peers, five-time gold medallist Sir Steve Redgrave has said.

The retired British rower, 54, was educated at Great Marlow Secondary Modern state school in Buckinghamshire, where he was asked to try rowing by his English teacher.

Speaking to the Radio Times, he said: ““Early on in my career, people were saying, 'You're capable of being an Olympic champion', so I took that mantle on.”

“Hopefully, I would have done whatever background I came from. But it’s not always the case: the opportunity of playing different sports and the coaching abilities at private schools are, unfortunately, much greater than at the state schools”.

He added: “But it’s not as bad as people think it is”.

This year, the percentage of privately educated British sports people taking part in the Rio Olympics has risen to 28 per cent, compared with 20 per cent in 2012.

Research from the Sutton Trust that found more than a third of British medal winners in the 2012 London Olympics were privately educated, despite around 68 per cent of all British participants coming from state schools.

The figures fuelled debate over the dominance of private schools in sports such as rowing, in which more than half of gold medallists at London 2012 were privately educated, and fewer than a third came from state comprehensives.

The government has since pledged to spend £350 million a year until 2020 to fund sports in primary schools. Concerns have been raised, however, over the lack of spending in secondary education for the same purpose.

Six alumni from Millfield private school in Somerset will represent Great Britain at Rio 2016. The school has a history of producing successful Olympians and is famed for its sporting prowess.

Mr Redgrave will attend the Rio Olympics, where he will serve as an ambassador for Team GB.

When asked about his concerns for the upcoming games, he said was feeling “very positive”, despite global concerns over infrastructure problems and the Zika pandemic in Latin America.

“Look at Beijing,” he said. “After the opening ceremony there’s no talk about drugs, or human rights issues; it’s about all these sports with the world’s best athletes. That’s how it should be."