Pupils love Manchester United

Manchester United players win the hearts of pupils

Manchester United is the most popular football team among school children, the results of a junior census of 50,000 pupils suggested.

The leading club topped every regional top 10 ten, with the exceptions of London and the North East, where there was strong support for Arsenal and Newcastle, respectively.

"I am delighted that we came top with children in the survey," manager Sir Alex Ferguson said.

The survey of seven to 16 year olds in England, Wales and Northern Ireland also found gerbils were not considered a cool pet - being rated one above reptiles at the bottom of the ownership table.

Up to 59% of secondary school pupils owns a mobile phone and 85% have access to a home computer, the census revealed.

Art favoured

Art came out as the favourite subject, followed closely by PE and sport, with maths ranked as third favourite.

December emerged as the most popular month for a birthday.

Children in England were most likely to walk to school, those in Wales were more likely to get there by bus and in Northern Ireland, pupils were more likely to get a lift.

Pupils took part in the survey via the internet and were asked to fill out a questionnaire, asking them about their favourite subject, how they got to school.

The figures were compiled by the Royal Statistical Society Centre for Statistical Education, in partnership with the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Teaching resource

Doreen Connor, head of mathematics at Chilwell Comprehensive School, who managed the project, said the database would provide an excellent resource for teachers, as well as uncovering some fascinating findings.

"For example, art is the most popular subject but maths also scored highly.

"Children have shown a genuine interest in the results, which encourage them to think about collecting information about themselves and interpreting the findings," she said.

Graham Jones, ONS director of the census of population and housing, said the results showed the value of taking a snapshot view of society.

"It's important that children understand the value of census-taking, where the information is used to plan essential services throughout their lives," he said.