The trial involved 117 children between the ages of six and 12 from primary schools in Durham. Half the children took an 'eye q' supplement containing omega-3 fish oil and omega-6 evening primrose oil, while the rest took a placebo supplement of olive oil. Doses were given three times a day.
All the children in the trial were affected by developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD), which can cause difficulties with motor skills, writing, reading, attention and behaviour.
After three months, 40 per cent of the children taking the fatty acid supplements showed significant improvements in reading and spelling. Their mean reading age rose by 9.5 months and spelling age by 6.6 months. Their behaviour and short-term memory also improved.
The results of the trial, conducted by the University of Oxford and funded by Durham County Council, were published this month in Paediatrics, an American journal.
One of the schools that participated in the trial was Timothy Hackworth Primary School in Shildon. Former headteacher Andrew Westerman said, 'The trial showed dramatic improvements in behaviour, attention and handwriting.
Playground incidents were greatly diminished and teachers could reason with the children more easily.
'Some parents said it was like they'd been given a new child. One parent said she had bought her child an atlas and an encyclopaedia because they had become so much more alert and interested in the world around them. We also ran a trial with ten children in the school nursery and they started interacting more with people around them.'
The Oxford-Durham trial ended in June 2002, and without the funding Timothy Hackworth School stopped giving children the supplements. Mr Westerman has now left the school to become an independent trial co-ordinator helping schools start their own supplement projects.
Dr Madeleine Portwood, senior educational psychologist at Durham LEA, who co-ordinated the trial, said the results clearly showed how nutritional intervention could enhance achievement in the classroom.
She said, 'Previous trials have shown some improvements in behaviour for children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder but not to the extent we observed. Given the results, it may be appropriate to offer fatty acid supplementation to children diagnosed with ADHD before considering medication.'
More information is available on www.durhamtrial.org.