English is not only the language of business, it is also the lingua franca of privilege and it is set to become even more so. It is already used by many of the young heirs to the world’s wealth and in 10 years’ time, twice their number are likely to be fluent in English, if forecasts by an educational consultancy hold true.

The number of children enrolled in English-language international schools is expected to grow from 4.16m in 2016 to 8.75m by 2026, according to research published in February 2016 by International School Consultancy, which has been charting the growth of these schools for more than 30 years.

“There is huge demand the world over for quality education and international school enrolment is increasingly dominated by the richest 5 per cent of non-English-speaking parents who want their children to compete on the global stage,” says Nicholas Brummitt, the consultancy’s chairman.