A UNIVERSITY study has found that children are suffering from too much homework.

The study by Durham University, featured in this month's edition of Prima Magazine, found that setting children a large amount of homework does not necessarily improve their performance at school.

In 1998, the Government set targets for the average 14 to 16-year-old to undertake between 1.5 and 2.5 hours a day of homework, with children as young as nine expected to do 30 minutes a day.

But, according to the study, children who were set homework only once a month performed significantly better than those who followed the guidelines.

It attributes this to the "boredom factor", claiming that when children are overloaded with work they find it hard to concentrate.

Prima questioned the necessity of all the assessments children undertake - and expresses concern that they are placed under too much pressure.

It cited the statistic that, last year, Childline counselled 800 children about exam stress, of whom ten per cent were under 13, and claims some teenagers play truant to catch up with work.