Study: Start kids in school at age 6

LONDON: Children should delay the start of formal schooling until the age of 6, a year later than at present, the largest review of primary education in England for 40 years recommended on Friday.

The 608-page Cambridge University study said introducing younger children into the constraint and discipline of a classroom - a throwback to Victorian days - provided little benefit and could even be harmful.

"They are not going to learn to read, write and add up if you have alienated children by the age of 4 and 5," said Gillian Pugh, chairwoman of the Cambridge Primary Review's advisory committee.