For these schools with huge budgets to apply to the problem of educating their pupils, ebooks are much more like software.

FORBES: Are Ebooks Really Books?

This problem is worse among primary pupils, says the Kellogg's report, because they find it harder than secondary pupils to "fend for themselves".

BBC: Parents 'failing to give children breakfast'

School exclusions and truancy are part of the problem, but keeping disruptive pupils off the streets may not be compatible with raising standards in the classroom.

ECONOMIST: Crime: Don't panic | The

However, Dr Strand cautioned against seeing white working class pupils as the only problem for the education system.

BBC: White working class 'left behind'

Mr Clarkson said he was currently teaching pupils skills, such as problem-solving, that would prepare them for everyday life.

BBC: GCSE changes to final exams 'will disadvantage girls'

Mr Bell said that in those circumstances, raising pupils' attainment could seem "an almost intractable problem".

BBC: Teachers 'must do better still'

Thirty years ago, pupils would sometimes convert decimals into fractions to solve a problem, but those taking the tests now did the reverse, researchers found.

BBC: Maths 'no better than in 1970s'