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| Compared with their continental counterparts, children in the UK start school at a very early age. Our correspondent is not convinced that it gives them any academic advantage. My threeyearold son and I went shopping for his school uniform. As he stood in the changing room, swamped by even the smallest trousers, several people commented that he looked too young to start school. I couldn't agree more. Scarcely will he have blown out the candles on his fourth birthday cake when I'll be waving him off at the school gates. The poor little man still puts his pants on back to front and thinks baby pigs come out of eggs. How is he going to cope with literacy and numeracy hours, let alone the horrors of school toilets? Yes, I am an overanxious mother but I surely can't be the only person who feels that British children start school far too young. A research suggests that channelling children into formal learning structures at such a young age breeds a sense of failure and disaffection that will dog them throughout their school career. The law states that the statutory school starting age for children in the UK is the term after a child's fifth birthday, but it is common practice in England and Wales to admit children to reception class at the beginning of the year in which they become 5, which means that most children start school at the age of 4. The latest government figures indicate that around 80 percent of children enter school before their fifth birthday. By comparison, children in France, Portugal, Belgium start school at 6, while the school starting age in many Scandinavian countries is 7. This is the starting age in Finland, where students recently beat those from 39 other countries to come out tops in maths, science and reading. 1. When her son is going to enter primary school, the writer feels very ________. A. excited B. worried C. surprised D. puzzled 2. In the UK, it is stated in the law that children should start school at the age of ________. A. 4 B. 5 C. 6 D. 7 3. Which of the following is probably the best title of the passage? A. Do our children start school too young? B. Students starting school too young may cause problems C. Young students may lead to failure D. The age of starting school in some countries 4. What worries the writer is that her child ________. A. can't even look after himself B. can't dress himself C. has some childish thoughts D. has little ability in writing and reading |