Books make brains

Researchers linked book buying to exam results

Schools which buy more books get better results, claims a survey from publishers.

The study, which considered primary school test results and GCSE results in over a thousand schools, concluded that there was a link between increased spending on books and high achievement.

The research, carried out by Statistics in Education, found that in a "league table" of book spending, those in the top half performed significantly better in tests than those which were among the lower spenders on books.

Commissioned by the School Book Alliance, the study also found that this pattern applied to both schools in poorer and more affluent areas, large and small schools and in rural and urban settings.

The research, which used test and exam results from last year and the School Book Buying Survey, claims that there is little statistical likelihood of the link between books and grades being a matter of chance.

The place of books in schools as the major resource for learning has been overshadowed in recent years by the growth in interest in information technology.

While schools have spent much money on computer equipment, publishers are keen to make clear the continuing importance of books.

They will be hoping that the extra funding passed on directly to schools, announced in this week's review of public spending, will see some of the money spent on re-stocking the shelves of school libraries.