The four areas of non‐academic development considered were: the young people's rating of their own ability in English, mathematics, science and practical subjects, their academic motivation, their plans for further education and occupational aspirations and their behaviour at school. However, in general there were no differences in any of these respects between children in streamed, setted and mixed‐ability schools.

The implications of these findings are discussed, in particular the potential differences which could arise between schools with different policies if more appropriate methods of teaching and organisation were adopted.