PUPIL turnover is so rapid at some primaries that hardly any children stay from the age of five to 11, a new study reveals.

Four out of five pupils do not complete a full academic year at the worst-affected primaries, according to a report based on 4,300 schools published by the Office for Standards in Education.

Inner London’s secondary schools suffer some of the most severe problems, with an average turnover of 14 per cent per year - double the level found anywhere else in the country.

The study, by Dr Janet Dobson of University College London, also found a relationship between high mobility and low GCSE grades. Almost all schools where more than 15 per cent of pupils changed every year had below-average GCSE scores.

But Dr Dobson added: “Since schools with higher mobility levels tend also to be those with higher levels of social disadvantage, lower GCSE results may be a consequence of that.”

Schools with high turnover have to cope with time-consuming administration, providing appropriate special educational needs support at short notice and assessing pupils’ previous attainment.

Dr Dobson said: “A false start can have serious consequences, both for the pupils concerned and for the groups they join.”

Dr Dobson, who has done extensive research in pupil mobility, said that it caused greater problems in secondary schools.

“Children may be taught by a dozen different teachers, who all have to make an effort to settle them in,” she said.

She argued that mobile pupils could end up being ghettoised into certain schools. “What does the increasing diversity of secondary schools mean for mobile students?” she asked.

“It could concentrate them more heavily in certain places.”

OFSTED’s report ‘Managing Pupil Mobility’ can be viewed at: www.ofsted.gov.ukpublicdocs02managingmobility.pdf