A boarding school head teacher has warned that children are being "mollycoddled" and are not prepared to put in the effort required in the world of work.

Douglas Robb, 47, sparked a backlash from former pupils after accusing the so-called Snowflake generation of having an "underlying sense of entitlement".

Writing in a blog on the website of the £33,960-a-year Gresham's School in Holt, Norfolk, Mr Robb said he was worried that some young people lacked "grit" and "look down their noses" at certain jobs.

In a post entitled "Developing grit, and a grateful attitude to work", he wrote: "A generation has come of age where many more individuals perceive themselves to be 'one in a million'."

Mr Robb added: "Grit is not a new idea, nor even a new buzzword. Grit remains, however, something that schools and parents seem to have failed to engender in large swathes of young people."