Science Story

08 January 2009 14:12 BST

Childhood meningitis 'reduces exam success'

A quarter of teenagers who had meningitis during infancy will not pass any GCSE exams, a new study claims.

Scientists from Imperial College London studied 750 16-year-olds across England and Wales, 461 of whom had bacterial meningitis during their first year of life.

GCSEs are sat by 16-year-olds in England and Wales and are graded A to E. The national yardstick is five passes at grade C.

The research revealed that almost eight per cent of those who had bacterial meningitis before their first birthday were in special schools – about four times the national average.

All the teenagers studied who had not had the infection (the comparison group) attended mainstream schools.

One in four of those who had meningitis did not manage any GCSE passes at grade C or above compared with just over six per cent of the comparison group.

Almost half failed to meet the national education standards of five GCSEs and more than a fifth failed to pass even one at grade C compared with eight per cent of their comparison group and the national average in England of less than four per cent.

Even children who had been assessed at the age of five and found to have no meningitis-associated disability were half as likely to achieve the national standard as children in the comparison group at the same type of school.

Commenting on their findings, the researchers conclude: "It is essential that all cases of bacterial meningitis occurring during the first year of life are followed up fully so that children who require educational and other support are recognised at an early age."

The study is published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood journal.