Ambitious, enthusiastic and self-assured, many of today's captains of industry have taken a straight path from school prefect or star of the playing field to the top of British business, says a report to be published tomorrow.

The survey of chief executives and board level directors of the country's biggest companies found that most demonstrated their leadership potential at school, with nearly 90 per cent holding at least two roles such as head boy or girl, prefect or sports captain.