A new report has suggested that parents earning a combined income of £80,000 or more should be required to pay fees to send their children to the most popular state schools. 

The idea has been floated by private headmaster Dr Anthony Seldon in a document issued by the cross-party think tank Social Market Foundation. 

He suggested this move would provide additional funds to the schools in question and break "the middle-class stranglehold on top state schools". 

However, education secretary Michael Gove said the Conservatives have no plans to adopt the policy.
 
Dr Seldon, head of the private school Wellington College, insists a "new wave" of educational reform is required to eradicate the divide in standards of teaching between state and independent schools, which it is hoped would boost social mobility. 

Families earning in excess of £200,000 per year should be made to pay the full prices of their children's state education, the report - which is titled Schools United: Ending the Divide Between Independent and State - suggested.

According to Dr Seldon, these parents would pay the same level of cost covered by the state, which would be around £6,000. 

He also believes fees at the most oversubscribed state schools should be same as those currently charged by independent day schools - around £15,000 for primary and £20,000 for secondary. 

It is proposed that a quarter of the finance raised would be retained by the school, with the remainder then distributed among other state institutions.

In an interview with BBC News, Dr Seldon said: "There's a tremendously unjust system at the moment whereby the rich and the successful and those with strong elbows buy houses in catchment areas of successful schools.

"We need the money in the state schools and this will produce it," he added.

If you are a teacher or a trainee looking for a teaching job, do you think these proposals would help to make the education system fairer and improve standards across the board? Let us know your views.