One in four teenagers who had meningitis during infancy will not pass any GCSE exams

One in four teenagers who had meningitis during infancy will not pass any GCSE exams, according to new research published in Archives of Disease in Childhood. The findings are based on the GCSE exam results of 750 16- year-olds across England and Wales, 461 of whom had bacterial meningitis during their first year of life. Even five-year-olds who showed no signs of meningitis-associated disability were half as likely to achieve the national standard as others at the same type of school. The researchers recommend that all children who suffer meningitis in infancy should be monitored and provided with continuing educational support . The full study is at http://press.psprings. co.uk/adc/march/ac105916.pdf. One in four children in Children who start secondary school next year will have to remain in education or training until they are 18 or face 50 fines from the Government, according to proposals launched by education secretary Alan Johnson last week. The Green Paper, Raising Expectations, highlights the economic benefits of creating more skilled employees in Britain. From 2015, every teenager without a job will be expected to do a minimum of 16 hours education per week, while those in employment must do 280 hours training a year. Failure to pay fines could result in prosecution.