NewsWeek – Elisabeth Perlman
Boys are almost twice as likely to struggle with mastering English language skills than girls by the time they start school. A report published on Monday by international children’s charity Save the Children revealed that in the last academic year alone, a quarter of boys aged five in England—an estimated 80,000—started school unable to speak a full sentence with ease or follow basic instructions. They had trouble answering simple “how” and “why” questions. It is striking that there is no single region in England where boys outperform girls in early language skills. The charity’s report, based on a University of Bristol study entitled ” The Lost Boys: How boys are falling behind in their early years,” also highlighted that children who start school behind often never reach an equal footing with their peers.”(more)