Games are good for getting pupils limbered up at the start of lessons - but research from the Mind Research Network in Albuquerque, in the US, could start a new trend. The researchers claim that playing the block-dropping Nintendo computer game Tetris for 30 minutes each day boosts brain efficiency and develops a thicker brain cortex.

In the study, a group of teenage girls played the game for a set time over three months. MRI scans and brain analysis were then used to find what changes had occurred. More grey matter could mean that certain areas of the brain do not need to work as hard to complete complex tasks.

So, instead of playing 20 questions at the start of a lesson, finding a job-lot of games consoles may prove more beneficial.