Private schools have been told to open up places and facilities to children in care as part of a £500,000 Government drive.

Ministers hope that 1,000 private schools will sign up to the initative that would see local authorities to place vulnerable children at some of Britain's top boarding schools such as Harrow, Rugby, and Eton College.

Nadhim Zahawi, the minister for children, said he wants private schools “to play a greater role in helping raise outcomes for these vulnerable children”.

It comes amid mounting pressure on the country’s most prestigious private schools to step up their efforts to help less well-off pupils.

Three quarters of independent schools in England are registered as charities, earning them favourable business rates and VAT exemptions on fees.

To qualify as a charity they must demonstrate that they provide “public benefit” to a reasonably wide section of the public, rather than to a narrow group of wealthy individuals.

The launch of the project follows a the publication of a Government-backed report last year which showed that placing vulnerable youngsters at boarding schools can be “significantly more cost-effective” than keeping them in local authority care.

Researchers followed the progress of 52 children over ten years who were either in care or at risk of being taken into care by Norfolk County Council.