Head start for middle class pupils

DOTING middle-class parents lavish a staggering 5,000 more hours of ‘education’ outside school on their children compared with poorer classmates.

According to a new study, pupils from households earning between £50,000 and £70,000 a year enjoy 14,000 hours of extracurricular activities by the time they start secondary school.

This includes reading time with parents, after-school clubs, museum and theatre trips and private tutoring.

In stark contrast, children whose parents earn £30,000 or less get an average of only 8,900 hours of extra activities.

Experts say the study proves that poorer children still lag far behind richer classmates in developing skills and knowledge needed to boost academic results and get the top jobs.

Higher-income families spend far more time reading with their children, with 48 per cent sharing at least two hours a week compared with 36 per cent of poorer families.

A shocking one in ten children from lower-income families never reads with their parents.

More than half of affluent families visit a gallery or museum every six months compared with a quarter of households earning less than £30,000 a year – just over the national average of £29,000.

James Grant, co-founder of the online service MyTutor, which commissioned the study, said: ‘Our research shows the growing disparity in learning based on the earning power of your parents.’