SHAMONE Malik started primary school last September at the age of four-and-ahalf. But, according to his father, Tahir, he still struggles to fit in.

Now five, Shamone, a pupil at Lorne Street primary school on the south side of Glasgow, did not understand what was happening when he first started. Even now, he struggles to keep up.

Mr Malik believes his age has a lot to do with that. "I think it is because he is not mature enough, " he said. "We would have liked to have waited for him to start school next year.

"It is very important that the teachers understand his needs. Because of his age, he is going to be slower to mature as an individual."

The dilemma faced by the Maliks is one which thousands of parents deal with every year and one highlighted in research by educational psychologist Alan McLean, who is employed by Glasgow City Council.

According to a study of 1400 primary pupils and 1000 teachers in Glasgow, boys who go to primary before age five can be disadvantaged throughout their early school career because of the negative impact of being pushed into formal learning too quickly.

The study suggests immature boys starting school aged four-and-a-half may never catch up with their peers, even by the time they go to secondary, because of the "chronic stress" of facing difficult social and educational barriers.

One of his more radical suggestions is that girls should continue to start school at the age of five, because they seem unaffected by the trend but all boys should be deferred for one year and start at six. He also suggested pupils could have a staggered start to school, entering only when they reached the age of five.

The research follows a number of previous studies highlighting concerns over the impact on both boys and girls of going to school too early.

A report by the Scottish Council Foundation, a leftleaning think tank, claims children who start formal schooling before they are mature enough often fall behind in the basics and never recover.

Bronwyn Cohen, director of Children in Scotland, the report's co-authors, said: "The usual starting age of five may be too early, and four certainly is. Some children lose out at the end of the education system because they have not been ready to learn at the beginning. If we don't look at that, we will have to solve the problem for those whom the system fails much later on."

However, other reports have suggested there is no evidence linking school starting age with performance. A study last year by Durham and Dundee universities, commissioned by the Scottish Executive, found older children did not perform unusually well compared with younger children.

What is clear is that one of the great unsolved mysteries of the education system is that girls routinely do better than boys. According to Scottish school statistics for 2005, 79-per cent of fourth-year girls passed five or more Standard Grades in 2005 at general level or Intermediate 1 exams at C or better, compared with 73-per cent boys. In fifth year, 25-per cent of girls passed three or more Highers compared with 19-per cent of boys.

Figures also reveal that more girls than boys go on to higher and further education. The proportion of Scottish female school leavers entering university or college is now 59-per cent, compared to 45-per cent for male pupils.

With most Scottish three and four-year-olds now attending state-funded nursery education, some experts believe it is time for a change from a starting age established in 1870.

In most European countries the situation is very different. In Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Portugal and Spain, children do not start primary school until the age of six, while in Scandinavia it is seven. Instead they attend nurseries, where the emphasis is on learning through play.

In Scotland, where there is only one intake a year, most children start primary one between the ages of four-anda-half and five-and-a-half, irrespective of their emotional or social development.

While play is increasingly important as a learning tool, from early in their school career, the emphasis for pupils is on learning to read, write and count. Some children get homework almost every night.

Professor Eric Wilkinson, a specialist in early-years education at Glasgow University, believes the best age for starting formal education should be decided for each child by parents in consultation with nursery staff.

"If the child is not emotionally ready - perhaps gets anxious and upset easily - the less formal environment of nursery may be appropriate, and he or she will catch up in due course, " he said.

The study

The research was based on information from 1000 teachers at Glasgow primaries who were asked to give their perceptions of the children they taught on issues like engagement, motivation and learning competence.

Information was gathered for 1400 P6 children and the results were broken down by gender and date of birth.

Pupils were then ranked on a scale of 1-10 for a variety of factors.

On engagement, the scale produced scores of 7.6 for older girls, 7.3 for younger girls, 7 for older boys and 6.6 for younger boys.

On learning competence, older girls had a score of 7.4, younger girls 7, older boys 6.8 and younger boys 6.4. Given a complex reading test, older girls scored 8 compared with 6.3 for younger boys.