The reading abilities of German 15-year-olds, according to the PISA studies published by the OECD, are below the average for rich countries.

ECONOMIST: Education and skills

Now, Michael Merzenich, a neuroscientist at the University of California, San Francisco, and his colleagues have tested this idea by giving extensive hearing tests to grown-ups with a wide range of reading abilities.

ECONOMIST: The cat sat on the tam | The

But this is only one percentage point higher than in 2000, and on average boys' reading and writing abilities still fall consistently below girls'.

BBC: NEWS | UK | Education | Balls seeks reading 'revolution'

Sir Michael said the secret to boosting children's reading and writing abilities - and their overall academic performance - lay in getting things right when they were young.

BBC: Education & Family

The survey was carrried out in 2000, and 265, 000 15-year-olds from 32 countries were interviewed and tested on their abilities in reading, mathematics and science.

ECONOMIST: Educational standards compared

The changes to the Welsh system follow a review which heard concerns about the quality of GCSE students' abilities at reading, writing and maths.

BBC: Leighton Andrews welcomes GCSE 'U-turn' for England

And the jockeys who are successful in reading the mood and the abilities of the horses beneath them, and in guiding them to success, have thus become household names in more than their native lands.

CNN: All the world loves a flutter

When teaching literacy, the facilitators systematically work to develop four complementary abilities: oral communication, reading, writing and vocabulary expansion.

UNESCO: Country Profile: Chile

Hughes has also had spells at Notts County and Reading and Baraclough says he has long been an admirer of his abilities.

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