IF you were born in the summer months, the chances are you won't achieve as high academically as those born at any other time of the year. That's according to recent research, anyway.
But here in Worcester the Institute for Fiscal Studies' (IFS) report has been rubbished, with evidence showing August-born students actually achieve better than any others. The study compared the percentages of children born in August who achieved the level expected for their year group with those of children born in September.
It found that while 60.7 per cent of September-born girls and 50.3 per cent of September-born boys achieved five GCSEs grade A* to C, in contrast, 55.2 per cent of August-born girls and 44.2 per cent of August-born boys did so.
However, students at Worcester Sixth Form College have been bucking the trend.
Figures from the college reveal that those born in August actually achieve better at both AS and A-level than their counterparts born at any other time of the year.
Principal John Tredwell said: "After I saw this study from the IFS I decided to carry out my own little bit of research, as my own granddaughter was an August baby.
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"What I found was that our students with an August birthday actually had slightly stronger GCSE entry grades than any others."
Mr Tredwell used statistics from the Advanced Level Information System (Alis), which provides performance indicators for post-16 students across all sectors of education and includes analysis of A-level, AS-level, Applied A-levels, BTEC National and International Baccalaureate examinations.
Hattie Adams is glad she wasn't kept back a year because of her birthday. 11336901
"It just goes to show that being a summer-born baby is of no disadvantage," Mr Tredwell said.
Sixteen-year-old Hattie Amos, a first year A-level student at the sixth form college, was born on August 13, 1991. She sat 11 GCSEs at Bishop Perowne CE College in Worcester and scooped two A*, one A, five B, and three C grades. She is now studying religious education, performing arts and music at
A-level.
"I don't think being born in August has hindered me anyway academically," she said.
The report said that the biggest factor affecting children's performance was the age at which they sat tests, with those born in August being, sometimes, almost one year younger than their counterparts. At present, many children born in August are beginning school in the September after their fourth birthday.
It has now called for more flexibility in when national tests
are taken.
"I would not have wanted to be kept back another year because of my birth date," Hattie added. "Even though I was one of the youngest in my year, I would rather that than have had to wait another year."
The research also found that August-born girls, who received two terms less schooling, faced the additional penalty of 3.8 percentage points in their key stage one score and 2.5 points in their key stage two scores. Worcester Sixth Form College student Emily Weaver, a former pupil at Elgar Technology College, was born on August 1, 1991. She achieved two A, eight B, and three C grades at GCSE and is now studying physics, maths, classical civilisation and philosophy at A-level. The 16-year-old said: "It has never made any difference to my schooling that I was one of the youngest. I worked as hard as everyone else and achieved well."
August-born students at the Worcester college said the only hinderance with having an August birthday was seeing friends able to do things before them.
Tom Jenkins, aged 16, said: "All my friends will be able to drive long before me and drink before me." Tom attended Bishop Perowne CE College, where he achieved four A, four B and two C grades, before joining the sixth form college to study film studies, English, graphic art and fine art.
He added: "Academically, I have done as well, if not better than many of my friends who were born at other times of the year."
Currently parents are not obliged to send children to school until they reach the age of five, but many parents with summer-born children enter them in school when they are four, so that they become five during their first school year.
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