IF your child is left-handed, have you ever considered how their school life may be made slightly more difficult because of it? From their handwriting to taking exams, to something as simple as cutting paper – there are a number of daily tasks that could be potential obstacles for your child that you – and they – may not be aware of.

A leading expert on handedness called for more appropriate teaching when she spoke at a conference on left-handedness in education held at Malvern College.

Lauren Milsom, who founded the Left Handers Club, called for teachers to be more aware of the implications of having left-handed pupils in their classes.

She estimated that “right-bias”

still discriminated against one in 10 children in the UK.

She said: “There is still a lot of ignorance about this issue. Many teachers think it is enough to just tell left-handed children to rest the paper on the left of the desk and give them some ambidextrous scissors.”

She also suggested that lefthanded children were more likely to be incorrectly diagnosed with conditions such as dyslexia because schools misunderstood common writing problems.

However, she made it clear that being left-handed meant that it was just an indicator that the brain was wired differently – and that not everyone who writes with their left hand has the same skills and abilities, or even the same problems as they go through life.

Many were even at an advantage, including in sports such as tennis and in music and the arts.

But she also said that sometimes it was practice that helped them, such as throwing a ball and getting the hand-eye co-ordination correct – and that just being aware and being patient could make a big difference.

Mrs Milsom said: “There is no need to provide special teaching for left-handed pupils. It’s about helping teachers to be more aware of their needs and challenges so they can provide equality of learning. Handedness should be noted as standard practice on every child’s school record, so they can be taught appropriately.

“For example, very young lefthanders should be taught the best positioning of the hand, body and paper when writing, otherwise we have to find our own way – and we are very good at that, at being adaptable – but it may not be the most efficient or most comfortable way. That is when you might see a child develop the ‘hooked’ hand or end up pushing against the paper, which slows them down.”

The conference was the brainchild of Malvern College’s headmaster Antony Clark.

Mr Clark said: “I’ve been fascinated by the idea of lefthandedness over the years, and wondered why it seems to be related to creative people and, as a keen sportsman myself, why there is a host of top tennis players and cricketers who are also left-handed.

“As a headmaster, I also have the opportunity to ponder whether we as teachers are giving left-handers poorer grades for writing less, when they may struggle from constantly pushing against the paper.”

Mrs Milsom said schools needed to address at least some of the methods used to examine pupils.

She said: “Being left-handed is not a problem, but we left-handers do have to overcome the fact that there is a right-hand bias in the world.

“Multiple choice exams are certainly unfair, as it’s so easy for a right-handed person to fill in those boxes on the right-hand side of the page. A left-hander, in stretching across the page, has to cover up the questions to put the tick in the box.

“However, I think an efficient writing style would certainly address any perceived unfairness in exams when writing against the clock.”

Also giving his thoughts on the evolution of handedness was Tim Crow, professor of psychiatry at Oxford University.

He said: “Language is what distinguishes us from animals. We are a species characterised by a feature – the capacity for language – that has no clear precedents among our primate relatives.

“Handedness is a reflection of the genetic and neural changes that gave rise to language and created homo sapiens as a species.”

Chris McManus, professor of psychology and medical education at UCL, also spoke at the conference.

He said: “Art dating back to prehistoric times shows us that there has been handedness for at least 5,000 years. If there were no genetic advantages to being lefthanded, then it would have disappeared over time.

“About 10 per cent of us are lefthanded, give or take a percentage or two across the western world, and it’s perhaps that rarity value which gives both advantages and disadvantages.

“There is little value in producing goods for 10 per cent of the population only, for example, so they may struggle with certain equipment. But on the other hand, there is a strategic advantage in a lot of sports, especially one-on-one, such as fencing, tennis and baseball, as you defy opponents’ expectations.

“We also know left-handers may have great musical and mathematical abilities, and that many artists, musicians and leaders are left-handed, including Barack Obama and David Cameron.

“However, I do have to debunk the myth that Beethoven, Picasso, Einstein and Bob Dylan are or were left-handers.”

During the Victorian era, lefthanders were forced to write with their right hand.

Mrs Milsom said: “While we don’t force children to write with their right hand today, it may still be viewed by some as ‘better’ or ‘easier’ to be right-handed. But handedness is not a choice, it’s to do with the way the brain is wired.

“So by forcing children to use their ‘unnatural’ hand, they may not perform as well as they might have – and you are also risking the psychological effect of being told it’s wrong.”

Mr Clark asked conference delegates to observe left-handedness in their schools and homes with a view to sharing their thoughts at a possible conference next year.

For more details, visit the website anythinglefthanded.co.uk.