Affluent parents are more likely to spend money on extra tuition outside of school than people from less well-off backgrounds, according to new analysis of Office for National Statistics (ONS) data.

The Sutton Trust found that mums and dads from the richest fifth of households in the UK are four times more likely to invest in extracurricular classes for their children than parents in the poorest fifth of households.

As a result of this, the thinktank observed that this supplementary private tutoring meant that children from wealthy families develop a striking lead over their peers.

Conor Ryan, director of research at the Sutton Trust, said that it is clear to all that "inequalities in education don’t stop after the school bell has sounded".

"They extend to the range of private tuition and extra-curricular activities available to children whose parents can afford to pay for them," he continued.

"While many schools offer a range of sporting and other activities outside regular school hours, there is still a substantial advantage available to those who can afford it."

Mr Ryan said that if we, as a society, are serious about boosting social mobility, every effort must be made to reduce the gap in educational opportunities inside and outside of the classroom.

"Offering low-income families vouchers to spend on extra-curricular activities or private tuition would be a step towards this," he concluded.

Other findings from the analysis include private school students being twice as likely to receive extra tuition than pupils from state schools; while an overwhelming majority (76 per cent) of parents from all social groups have made an effort to involve their kids in extracurricular social activities.

Last month, in response to the findings of the Social Mobility Commission – which reported that Britain remains a "deeply elitist" country – the Sutton Trust said that as things stand, those who govern us in the future will have come from "educationally exclusive" backgrounds.

"One of education’s scandals is that we do not support nearly enough the high academic achievers in state schools so they can compete with their privately educated peers," it said.