Because middle-class students are often only points of contrast against which the various experiences of working-class students are set, they are typically treated as a relatively undifferentiated group. However, as the middle class has expanded it has become increasingly internally differentiated—in terms of both vertical and horizontal distinctions. Our own research indicates that these distinctions are intimately connected to education provision. Our own ongoing research based on a cohort of some 350 academically able middle-class students shows how, even within this group, different educational pathways consolidate vertical differentiation within the middle class. Although the overwhelming majority of our respondents are getting on, most of those who are getting on ‘famously’ attended private schools and elite universities. Some schools, notably those that are private and academically selective, feed a greater portion of their students into high-status universities which then provide pathways into high-status occupations and high incomes. In addition to vertical differentiation, though, there is horizontal differentiation. Indeed, some argue that the extent of differentiation is such that we should refer to the middle classes. Savage et al. (1992), for instance, identify lines of horizontal differentiation that are based upon the ownership of distinctive types of asset. They identify three distinct middle classes; the petite bourgeoisie holding property assets, managers holding organizational assets and professionals holding cultural capital. The first of these, the petit bourgeoisie, has been a relatively unimportant grouping in the UK, but the divide between managerial and professional class is they argue, fundamental to any understanding of the middle class. Indeed, Halon (1998) argues that we are currently seeing a struggle between the managerial and the professional classes and between managerial and professional elements within both groups. To some extent this has led to a blurring of the distinction as the ‘professions’ have become more managerialized and management roles more professionalized. In our own middle-class cohort there have been high levels of movement between those in managerial and those in professional roles. Moves from professional to managerial roles appear to be largely associated with upward progression within a career. However, movement from managerial to professional occupations was often the result of ‘sideways’ movement.