A Stellenbosch University study has found that children who begin Grade 1 at a younger age are significantly more likely to repeat the grade, with repetition rates as high as 20% for the youngest starters compared to about 8% for older entrants.
The research, conducted by Bianca Böhmer of the university’s Research on Socio-Economic Policy Unit (RESEP) and published in April 2026, draws on learner-level administrative data from six provinces — Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West — covering pupils who entered Grade 1 for the first time in 2018 and were tracked through to Grade 4.
An unequal playing field from Day 1
South Africa’s admissions regulations allow children to start Grade 1 across an unusually wide 18-month window; a child may enter as young as 5½ or as old as 7. The study found that schools generally follow either of two dominant admissions practices. Poorer rural schools tend to operate on a mid-year regime, admitting younger children on average, while wealthier urban schools follow a calendar-year regime that results in slightly older entry cohorts.
The consequences are stark. Böhmer found that a child who is one year older than a classmate at the point of entry ranks approximately 19 to 24 percentile points higher within the school by the end of Grade 1. Although this gap narrows somewhat by Grade 4, it remains substantial — at roughly 9 to 12 percentile points — suggesting that the disadvantage of an early start is not quickly outgrown.
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Repetition rates tell the same story. Overall, about 13% of Grade 1 learners repeat the year, and approximately 25% repeat at least once during the Foundation Phase (Grades 1 to 3). An additional year of age at entry is estimated to reduce Grade 1 repetition by between 10 and 16 percentile points, a striking reduction relative to the mean repetition rate.
Boys and poorer learners bear the greatest burden
The study found that the effects are not evenly distributed. Boys are disproportionately affected: they achieve lower marks than girls across all subjects and are about twice as likely to repeat Grade 1. The relative-age penalty is particularly pronounced in mathematics for boys.
Learners in lower-quintile schools, those serving less affluent communities, also experience stronger effects in absolute terms. Mid-year schools, which are disproportionately lower-quintile and rural, record higher-average repetition rates of about 25%, compared with approximately 18% in calendar-year schools.
What should be done?
Böhmer’s policy recommendations stop short of calling for sweeping legislative change. Instead, the paper advocates for a set of practical targeted interventions. These include improving the quality of instruction in Grades 1 to 3, strengthening parental guidance, particularly for children born between January and June who may be admitted to school before they are developmentally ready, and expanding access to high-quality early-childhood development programmes, including making Grade R universal and more well-funded.
The researcher also calls for greater awareness among teachers, early-childhood development practitioners and school officials about the relationship among age, maturity and school readiness. Where feasible, schools are encouraged to consider shifting towards calendar-year admissions practices, which do not require changes to legislation.
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The study acknowledges that further research, ideally using standardised learning assessments and tracking learners into later schooling and adult life, is needed before any major regulatory reforms are recommended.
