The review found that on average the cost of educating a child in a small primary school could be three times higher than a larger school.

BBC: Panel: Too much spent on keeping small schools open

Today's primary school children tend to learn songs and lines for a play, as well as useful tools like times tables, says Mark Brown, head teacher of St Mary's Catholic Primary School in Axminster, Devon, but rarely whole poems, as their grandparents would have done.

BBC: Memory and method: In praise of learning by rote

Even today, with Chinese children learning English from primary school onwards, it's a barrier that can be almost completely impenetrable at times.

CNN: 5 top tips for China first-timers

Most countries in the region are investing at least 10 times the amount in each tertiary student compared to each pupil in primary school.

UNESCO: Biodiversity Initiative