The OECD carried out an analysis of reading test results taken by children in developed countries, which showed that 15-year-olds who had attended pre-primary education were on average a year ahead at school in reading.
This was the case even after children's social and economic backgrounds were taken into account.
The report said, 'The difference between students who had attended for more than one year and those who had not attended at all averaged 54 score points in the PISA reading assessment - or more than one year in formal schooling (39 score points).
'While most students who had attended pre-primary education had come from advantaged backgrounds, the performance gap remains even when comparing students from similar backgrounds.
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