Over the years, educationalists have not known how best to support the summer birthday children, especially those born in July and August, as they are thought to be too young to start formal education until they are approaching their fifth birthday.

Many education authorities believe that the best way of supporting the needs of these children is by either arranging for them to attend school for mornings only for the first two terms of the Reception year, delaying their start at school until the summer term or even to asking them to wait a year and start their education in Year One. These pupils then either go straight into Year One or they join the Reception year until Christmas and then move into Year One. Whatever the arrangement, inevitably these children will have received less education than the rest of their peer group and therefore have the challenge of having to ‘catch up’ with their learning and to fit in with existing friendship groups. It is hardly surprising therefore that research reveals that summer birthday children are the least successful academically as measured in terms of passing the 11+, acquiring good exam results and in gaining places at university. In other words, the education system, which ever method it chooses for educating them, is failing the summer birthday children.

But not at PGS, where summer birthday children are statistically just as likely to be successful in national assessments and at the 11+ as other children within their academic year group. To what do they attribute this success? Quite simply, the school is expert at understanding and meeting the needs of their young children and realising how crucial it is to provide the right start to their academic education. Most importantly, the children are set challenges they are ready to meet and are never set a task that, either through immaturity or lack of understanding, they are going to find too difficult. PGS Junior School is structured to place children according to their age into classes in each of the three year groups. The lessons are carefully planned to ensure that the overall learning objectives are the same although teaching methods differ tomatch thematurity and capability of the children. The previous learning experiences the children will have had are taken fully into account as indeed are their physical and intellectual capabilities.

By the time the children move into Year Three, age has far less impact on their performance so it is at this stage that the children are placed in classes with mixed age ranges.

Portsmouth Grammar School, High Street, Portsmouth Hampshire, PO1 2LN

Telephone: Senior School 023 9236 0036 Nursery & Junior School 023 9236 4219