Primary school is failing children

FOUR out of ten children are leaving primary school without basic spelling and numeracy skills, a new report has warned.

The Institut Montaigne, a leading French think-tank, said up to 300,000 children a year were falling behind in their learning before they reached the age of 10.

The research, published in Le Parisien, found that the system, instead of giving pupils equal chances of success, heightened the differences between children from rich and poor backgrounds.

Child sociology expert François Dubet told the paper: "Too many pupils are leaving primary school poorly prepared for what comes next.

"One child in four is academically excellent. One in four is very weak. Our school system is very selective, very unequal and pays little attention to the worst-performers."

The main causes, according to the study

- School days are too long: a year's learning is crammed into 140 days, compared with 190 in the UK.
- A lack of clear direction by local education authorities
- A policy of making young children retake years (one in five pupils repeat a year in primary school)
- A "diluted" curriculum: foreign languages, IT and road safety eat into time spent teaching basic skills

President Sarkozy announced yesterday he wished to create a database to monitor people who leave school at age 16.

Schools would also be equipped to monitor pupils thought likely to drop out at 16 to see if they could be helped to stay in education.

Charly - Fotolia.com