Relative age effect on Nobel laureates in the UK

We set out to assess the relative age effect (RAE) on UK Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry and physiology or medicine. The academic year of the UK begins in September; therefore, children in one classroom may have an entire year’s difference in age (i.e. children born in September and those born in August of different years). This relative age difference could cause a disadvantage in the younger students compared to the older students within one classroom. In fact, the Higher Education Funding Council for England recently reported that fewer summerborn students progress through the higher education system in the UK, and that if all English students had the same chance of going to university as those born in September then there would typically be around 12,000 extra young entrants per cohort, increasing young participation by two percentage points.