Poorer high-ability UK children fall behind peers at school from age of 11

The study found a ‘clear, rapid decline in high-ability, low-income children’s outcomes’ between the ages of 11 and 14. Photograph: parkerphotography/Alamy

A critical three-year period between the ages of 11 and 14 has been identified as the point at which talented children from low-income backgrounds fall behind their wealthier peers at school, according to new research.

The study tracked high-ability children from the age of five, from the lowest and highest income groups, and found that they progressed at similar rates until the first years of secondary school.