MORE than a third of summer-born children struggle with maths, literacy and communication at age five, figures show.

The youngsters’ development was less likely to be rated “good” compared to kids born in the autumn, at the start of the academic year.

Experts say the figures add to the “wealth of evidence” that birth month affects academic grades and sporting ability.

Government data, based on teacher assessments after reception year, shows 62 per cent of kids born from May to August had a “good level of development”.

This compared to 81 per cent of their classmates born between September and December.

Michael Freeston, of the Early Years Alliance, said: “If you’re four years old when you start school, you could be up to 20 per cent younger than your peers. It’s a lot less time in early education — it makes it almost inevitable that a gap will develop.”

A Department for Education spokesman said the attainment “gap” was “perfectly normal” and younger kids narrow it quickly during primary school.

He said schools and councils are advised on how to help parents wanting to delay a child’s admission for a year.

The statistics also show that 61% of summer-born children were achieving the expected level in all the early learning goals, compared with 79% of those born in the autumn (a gap of 18 percentage points).

Pauline Hull, leader of the Summer Born campaign group, said: "The results of these tests are showing us what we know, and actually demonstrate that yes, if they have more time to physically and cognitively develop, then they would be better ready for school, and that is something no pre-school, no parent, no system can accelerate.

"It's very often a natural, physical, mental development that needs to just happen with time."

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