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There's evidence from a recent study of 10,000 5-15 year olds in Britain that children who are young for their year don't do as well educationally as older kids. Some parents agonise about sending their child to school when they'll be among the youngest in the class and recent research suggests the concern may not be unfounded. There's evidence that children who are young for their year don't do as well educationally and that's highlighted by comparing the month of birth. If you're born late in the year, you do better in England than Sweden. The difference seems to be the way the school entrance works. In Britain you're among the oldest in the class whereas in Sweden you're in the youngest group. In a recent study of 10,000 5-15 year olds in Britain, they found that when you compared the oldest children to the youngest based on school entry, the youngest showed a greater prevalence of psychological symptoms and mental illness. When other factors were taken into account, it was the relative difference in age within the year which seemed to matter. The effect was small and not something to become overly anxious about. But since research suggests that teachers often ignore relative age, there could be a case for heightened awareness of the need to check whether younger students in the class are struggling.
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