Irish pupils come out top in school tests

Irish pupils have come out on top in national tests for four and five-year-olds, according to figures released today.

They have broken the stranglehold normally held by Chinese and Asian pupils on top place in tests – which cover a range of basic communication skills, writing sentences and adding and subtracting.

The figures show 58.2 per cent of irish pupils had achieved a good level of development by the time they were ready to start compulsory schooling – compared with a national average of 51.6 per cent.

By contrast, Chinese pupils showed a slight decline with 51.8 per cent reaching the standard compared with 52 per cent last year.

The results also showed children from poor homes lagging behind before they start school with only just over a third reaching the required standards. Girls did better than boys in all but two of the 13 different tasks observed.