The social background of an 11-year-old child remains the ‘most powerful” indicator of their cognitive abilities, according to a new study from the Institute of Education at the University of London.

Examining data from approximately 13,200 children born in the UK in 2000 – provided by the Millennium Cohort Study – researchers identified trends based on the income and academic background of pupils.

It was found that youngsters whose parents were highly qualified “performed best across the board” in tests that measured vocabulary, decision-making, problem solving and memory.

“The wide achievement gap between the children of the highest and lowest-qualified parents has been a persistent one,” the authors of the report stated. “Sex differences were generally small, although boys were found to be much more impulsive and prone to taking risks.”

The vocabulary tests included getting participants to read out a set of words and then explain what relation they had with one another.

Children with parents who had a higher degree scored nine points more than their peers whose parents had no qualifications.

With memory and problem solving, youngsters were asked to locate token on a computer simulation. These were hidden in boxes that increased in number.

Here, children with parents with no qualifications made, on average, 43 errors, 13 more than those whose parents had a higher degree.

Addressing the gap in attainment levels between disadvantaged and affluent children remains one of the most pressing issues in education, from their perspective of schools, academics and policymakers.

The Millennium Cohort Study, which is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, as well as various government departments, is an ambitious, long-term research project.

It is observing the development 19,000 children who were born in the UK between September 2000 and January 2002 to gain a deeper understanding into diverse aspects of their lives.