Children of parents with a degree are almost a year ahead in maths by age 11 than peers whose parents have just GCSEs, a new study has revealed.

Researchers from the University of Sussex believe higher-educated parents lessen the negative impact of the transition to secondary education on maths attainment, through their own positive attitudes towards education, involvement with school activities and helping with homework.

The researchers say greater parental education is the strongest predictor of maths attainment and faster future growth for children moving into secondary school, even after adjusting for their intelligence.

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Andy Field, professor of quantitative methods at the University of Sussex, said the ability to identify predictors of maths attainment as early as possible in childhood could have “life-changing consequences”.

He said: “The current state of maths attainment and performance of children and adults in the UK is particularly alarming, with almost half of all working-age adults in the UK having the maths skills expected of primary-school children.

“Poor maths attainment in childhood persists well into adulthood and can be associated with several negative outcomes such as poorer employment prospects, greater likelihood of homelessness, poorer health outcomes and mental health difficulties such as depression.”

The longitudinal study involved almost 9,000 children born between 1991 and 1992 and tracked their progress through secondary school.

It also showed that:

• Boys achieved significantly higher grades in maths at age 11 but this gap did not grow through secondary school. Academics believe the gap at 11 could be explained by girls’ increasing maths anxiety and decreasing enjoyment of the subject at this age.
• There is “statistically significant but very weak evidence” that pupils with higher emotional symptoms in early childhood had lower maths attainment when they were older.

Researcher Danielle Evans said: “Our study shows that increased maths growth was significantly predicted by higher IQ, higher socioeconomic status and greater parental education.

“While this finding is not unexpected, it demonstrates the importance of parents within their child’s education and suggests that having higher-educated parents may potentially ‘buffer’ the negative impacts of the transition to secondary education on children’s attainment.”

The study is published today by the Royal Society.