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A new report from Cambridge Assessment, one of the UK's exam boards, has presented evidence that appears to question the government's plans for children to start their schooling aged four. The report, entitled Birthdate Effects: A Review of the Literature from 1990-on, argues that summer-born children are already at a disadvantage when they begin their education, and that lowering the school starting age could exacerbate this issue by causing unnecessary stress and anxiety.

If you'd like some further reading on this topic, try looking at School Starting Age: European Policy and Recent Research, a 2002 conference paper from the NFER.