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Original poster

August vs September birth (schools)

25 replies

MissBax · 25/05/2017 08:10

I'm due to have my LO end of August. Several times now people have said things along the lines of 'oh well if she's overdue then she'll be born in September so won't be the youngest in her year'. Etc
So really I was just wondering - has anyone got a child that is the youngest in their school year, and did this affect their performance or did they struggle to keep up with some of the older children in their class? It is insane that is she's born just a week later she'll be in a totally different academic year.

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annlee3817 · 25/05/2017 08:12

I was an August baby and never felt it affected me, I was in top set for a fair few things in Upper school, I'm fairly average I think, but don't feel that I struggled.

vfoster · 25/05/2017 08:16

My daughter was born on the 27th August and is due to start school this September. I honestly stressed and panicked about it but her nursery has always said she will be ready for school (more so than some of the older ones).
I went to meet with the headteacher of the school and she reassured me that summer born children catch up very quickly with the older ones.
I'm a secondary school teacher myself and wouldn't be able to say that there is a correlation between birth dates and grades; it's much more about individuals and the type of learning they do in and out of school.
The IFS did an interesting study which I read but my experience would say August birthdays are not automatically disadvantaged! My daughter would be really frustrated being stuck in nursery for another year; she's fully ready to be challenged.

www.ifs.org.uk/docs/born_matters_report.pdf

Original poster

MissBax · 25/05/2017 08:19

Thanks Ann and foster - it wasn't something I'd necessarily considered much but of all my friends in school the older ones in the year did appear slightly brighter than the others, although correlation doesn't prove causation and this could have been down to anything else.

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Sunnie1984 · 25/05/2017 08:23

I'm an August baby and was fine at school.

My eldest is an end of August baby and the youngest in the year. She loves school and has taken to it well. No problems settling in, making friends or coping with the work.

I think it's child dependant.

One of my kids will struggle with the transition to school, but that's due to personality and not age as he is one of the older ones.

You can always apply to hold them back a year if you are really worried. X

Ilovewillow · 25/05/2017 08:28

I have two (poor planning)! My eldest is the youngest in her Year (yr 4), she has never struggled academically but when she started school she found some of the self care tasks harder - doing up her own coat, getting dressed quickly! We did spend a lot of time encouraging independence early on to assist and she wasn't the only one by any means.

My son is also an August baby and due to start school in September, again I'm not concerned. The schools we have used (infant and juniors) are great at tailoring the offering to all students whatever age and ability.

Don't worry and just enjoy your child!

Gooseygoosey12345 · 25/05/2017 08:35

We went the other way. Due 31st of August but my DD turned up on 4 days late. She's the oldest and was so ready for school the year before but couldn't go. It depends on the child really

TheHiphopopotamus · 25/05/2017 08:37

DS was born beginning of August.

I was worried about him to start with as in Reception & Y1 he did seem to be really behind his peers. However, from Y2 onwards he just kind of got the hang of school and what was expected of him and started doing brilliantly.

He's 12 now and still doing really well.

Theworldisfullofidiots · 25/05/2017 08:39

I have an August boy and he is off to secondary in September. To be honest he didn't hit his stride until year 5. I think he will be fine and get there, he has lots of potential. Also I think things generally would have been easier for him if he wasn't so young in year.

ArialAnna · 25/05/2017 08:46

I was a july baby and I do think it affected both my results and confidence as I was always near the bottom of the class. I went to quite a competitive academic school though so maybe that would have been the case anyway. That IFS link foster posted does show that August born children can be at a disadvantage.

However given that there is nothing you can do about when your LO is born there's no point worrying about it! Perhaps if they are August born just be aware of the possible disadvantage and go the extra mile to help them get an advantage in other ways.

ScrunchyBook · 25/05/2017 09:07

My two were August born and I got these comments too, it helps that I was an August baby myself and am pleased with how I turned out!
Never had any problems at school due to lack of ability, the lack of motivation was more of an issue sometimes, but this can happen regardless of age

Justmadeperfectflapjacks · 25/05/2017 09:16

I have a 10/8 ds and a 25/9 dd. Not a jot of difference between how they managed school. . Except ds was always the smallest and dd the tallest in the class!!

Bear2014 · 25/05/2017 09:38

My sister and I are both end of July babies and we both did very well at school. I think it's a more 'modern' thing to worry about though, I don't recall there ever being angst about it in the past. There has to be some cut off, and there are many factors in how well a child copes at school. My DD is a January baby and will be MORE than ready for school next September. This makes me less concerned about DC2 being a summer baby. If they go to nursery and pre-school, the transition to reception seems pretty painless from what I've seen xx

Bear2014 · 25/05/2017 09:40

I have a DS due 13th August this year.

flissfloss65 · 25/05/2017 09:43

My dc was summer born and did struggle with the social side. He just wanted to run around. Academically ok but found sharing and waiting turns harder. Seemed to settle by year 2.

Summerisdone · 25/05/2017 10:01

I'm a late august born so was always the youngest of my year in school, and I feel I did ok in school.

It honestly isn't that great a deal as some people make it out to be. Of course a child starting just a week or so after turning four will be a bit less mature at the start in comparison to a child that is just about to turn five, but by the time you get through reception all the children are pretty much on a par because they've all been taught the same.

Original poster

MissBax · 25/05/2017 10:11

Thanks all for sharing your experience. like you've said it probably comes down to the child at the end of the day and making sure that as parents we encourage and support them as much as we can :)
goosey - I hadn't thought of it from that perspective, but that could cause troubles on the flip side!

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Lemonnaise · 25/05/2017 10:28

My DD is the youngest in her year (this is in Ireland). When she was still 5, there were a few 7 year olds in the same class. Her teacher told me they make some allowances for the younger ones and don't expect them to be on the same level as the older ones. She is 6 now and in the top group for reading and coming on a treat.

Lemondrop99 · 25/05/2017 13:06

I'm due a September baby and lots people have commented on schools. Yesterday a senior manager at work was saying how great it was and how much August babies struggle.....

I decided not to bother pointing out that I was a very late August baby and did fairly well at school, thank you very much!

I do think it depends on the child. Some summer babies might find it harder but it's certainly not a given. Plenty of August babies do just fine.

adlertippa · 25/05/2017 13:08

I'm end of August and did above average throughout school. The only drawback was struggling to get served in sixth form when everyone else was 18! I would have been gutted if I'd been put down a year, couldn't wait to leave school. As it was I finished uni at 20, felt brilliant having a degree with all my twenties ahead of me :)

Sparklyuggs · 25/05/2017 13:19

DH and I are both July babies and have done well, our siblings who were older in their school years struggled. All down to the child IMO, but I'm due at the start of August and I'd defer for a year if I were concerned.

Twinklelittlestar1 · 25/05/2017 18:06

I teach in early years and find that it does make a lot of difference to a lot of children. In reception the autumn borns are a whole fifth of their life ahead of the the summer borns. I think it shows through maturity, attention span,readiness to learn, independence and fine motor skills. Having said that, every child is different so we get some very capable and mature summer borns and equally some Autumn borns who struggle. I would say that birthday makes a difference in the early years but makes less of an impact as they get older (as they are less a proportion of their life behind as the years go on)

ScrunchyBook · 25/05/2017 19:42

Actually as adlertippa mentioned, the only time it annoyed me was the year all of my friends turned 18 before me, so they had their IDs, but I was still sneaking in to places

LarrytheCucumber · 25/05/2017 19:48

Depends on the child. DD, born 26th August, would have been bored if she had to wait another year. DGS born end of September would have struggled a lot if he had started school a year earlier.

Eolian · 25/05/2017 19:52

It very much depends on the child. Dd's birthday is 26th August and she's always been the youngest in her year. She's physically pretty tiny compared to some but she is very academically able and very confident. I'm actually really glad she wasn't a week later and in the year below.

confusedat23 · 25/05/2017 20:34

My Birthday is 30th August and although i didn't struggle so much academically i would say sociably it definately effected me quite alot as there wernt so many august babies in my school.

However past secondary school it makes no difference

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