A thinktank study has found that babies born in August are less likely to study at top universities than older children. Researchers at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) examined if there were any link between the month in which a child was born and what their plans are after leaving the school.
The amount of records of children and teenagers under the study came to 48,500 in England. They revealed that August-born children had 20% less chances to enter top universities as than their classmates born 11 months earlier. They were more likely to take vocational courses instead of applying to such universities as Cambridge and Oxford.
Claire Crawford, one of the authors of the study, commented upon August-born children that they may "end up doing worse than September-born children throughout their working lives, simply because of the month in which they were born".
She added: "Studying for academic qualifications, attending a Russell Group university, and believing that you have control over your own life are all associated with a greater chance of being in work and having higher wages later in life".
Previous studies published in 2007 show that children born in August are much less likely to get academic success than their September-born classmates. It was found out that parents tried to compensate for any possible disadvantage by reading more to children. However, they tried to help children only after they started school.
The report also shows that August-born children are more likely to be bullied and feel less confident in their academic abilities than their September-born classmates.
