New study examines whether starting school later in the day may help GCSE pupils

Some GCSE students are to test whether starting school at 10am could help them perform better at school.

Sleeping in late is seen as a rite of passage for teenagers, and now a new trial will examine whether deviating from traditional early start times in schools could help benefit a teenager's school work and well-being.

Experts from the universities of Birmingham, Oxford and Aberdeen are recruiting schools to take part in the study.

The trial will look at teenagers' sleep patterns and test whether a later school start time could benefit them.

Professor Paul Montgomery, lead researcher from the University of Birmingham, said:

The sleep study will focus on GCSE students from years 10 and 11 and theresearchers are recruiting secondary schools across the UK to take part in the study.