A new "physical literacy" programme has been launched in Scotland aimed at primary school children to help close the attainment gap.
The STEP Programme is an individualised physical literacy initiative which builds exercise into a child's routine to stimulate their ability to learn.
If adopted and rolled out across the country, it would see primary school children aged eight to 11 complete ten minutes of exercise twice a day to master the core physical skills of balance, co-ordination and eye tracking.
Exercises would be completed under the supervision of school staff and would include stretching, balancing on a wobble board, rolling on exercise balls and throwing a tennis ball from hand to hand.
An independent pilot of the initiative was trialled on 106 students across 17 schools in 2015/16 and saw children having improvements in focus, concentration, memory, spatial awareness and information processing.
The study saw 86% of STEP students who were below their target for reading reach or exceed this target within 12 months while 76% saw improvements in English, and teachers reported that 81% of students had positive changes to their self-confidence.
The programme has already been rolled out across schools in the US.
Former Scotland rugby player Kenny Logan, who struggled with dyslexia as a child and left school without sitting his final exams, spoke at the launch.
Mr Logan said: "For me, I left school at sixteen and couldn't read and write and had low confidence and self esteem, and I didn't enjoy school.
"I don't want kids to feel like I did, so this is an opportunity for us to try to help children and give them more self-esteem and give them the bit that children are not getting.
"We want to sit down with John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon and discuss it and try and get a trial going in August to get 2,000 kids to try it."
STEP founder Conor Davey said the initiative is not the only answer to closing the attainment gap in the country but could be a "big part" of it.
He added: "I think what we are trying to do is hard-wire into those children better cognitive processing through physical activity over a prolonged period of time which helps stimulate a child's ability to learn."
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