Two questions are discussed in this article: 1. Can school results be predicted? 2. Can differences in school results between pupils with good and less good motor skills decrease with motor training? Pupils in two intervention groups (n=151) who had physical activity and motor training one lesson every school day were compared with pupils in a control group (n=99) who had the school’s ordinary physical education two lessons per week. The results show that the degree of deficits in motor skills could be of importance to academic achievements during the first three years of school. One may assume that motor skill observations at the school start could be a useful pedagogic instrument to predict academic achievements in Swedish and in Mathematics during the first three school years. Furthermore the results indicate that differences in academic achievements between pupils with good motor skills and pupils with deficits in motor skills may decrease with extended physical activity and extra motor training in school.

The study was funded by the Swedish Public Health Institute, the University in Malmö and the Swedish Physical Education Teacher Federation. Valuable support was given from the teachers, parents and their children taking part in the study. More information about motor skill observations and research results can be found on www.mugi.se and on www.bunkeflomodellen.com.