For many years educational theory has suggested that school pupils’ achievement is increased by having brighter children around them – it is supposed that competition in the classroom raises overall standards, because the example given by more successful students will rub-off on those around them.

However, recent research, which has tracked the exam results of more than two million English school pupils, suggests that this may not be totally accurate – in fact, having to compete with brighter students may affect the confidence of individuals who think they are in the bottom half of the class. The findings also suggest that confidence is a key element in school pupil achievement.

Richard Murphy and Felix Weinhardt, researchers at the London School of Economics’ Centre for Economic Performance, surveyed 15,000 pupils and asked them to rate themselves in English, maths and science. They then compared these ratings with the pupils’ actual scores at the end of Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 – one at the end of primary school, the other mid-way through secondary school at around age 14. The research took in to account factors including parental guidance and involvement, but found that ‘non-cognitive skills’ had a large effect on achievement – these include traits such as confidence, perseverance and resilience.

The researchers gave an analogy whereby two pupils of high-ability attend different schools. One is top of the class, whilst the other is somewhere in the middle, as the school has many high achievers. They found that the pupil who was top of the class performed ‘better in secondary school and was more confident’. Indeed, the researchers stated that the ‘effect of rank is as important as teaching quality’. The research also found that boys are up to four times as likely to be affected by being top of their class as girls are.

Murphy and Weinhardt have suggested that their findings might help teachers to better manage and motivate their students. For instance, pupils who are in the middle of a high-achieving class may benefit from being told, and reminded, how they rank nationally rather than how they rank within their class or school. Those who are not achieving as highly may gain more from succeeding at personal goals set by teachers and themselves, as opposed to comparing themselves to others using exams or tests.

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