Notes

Forget about tutors and after-school study groups. There’s a new way for parents of struggling students to boost their kids’ grades: making them a new brother or sister.

Results of a British study published today suggest that kids who have siblings are more likely to excel academically than those who do not, according to the Sunday Times of London.

An only child is more likely to do better in certain nonscientific subjects. But those children’s performances in math and sciences, on average, were not up to snuff compared to kids with siblings.

The study, conducted by Maria Iacovou, a lecturer at the Institute for Social and Economic Research at Essex University, analyzed the records of 11,000 people born in 1958. Allowing for such variables as social class, type of school attended and parental divorce, she found that the elder of two children was most likely to bring home the best grades.

The database covered test and exam results from the ages of 7 to 23, including the British equivalent of high school and university degrees.

Iacovou believes the results suggest that while kids acquire language skills from their parents, it may be easier for them to explain math concepts to each other. The oldest of three siblings and the younger of two were the next-best academic achievers, according to the data.