Richmond’s boys are twice as likely to fall behind girls by the time they start school, though the gap between the genders is narrower than anywhere else in the country.

A quarter of boys in England, 80,000, began reception class without being about to follow instructions or speak a complete sentence, according to Save the Children.

The country’s narrowest gap was in Richmond, where 11 per cent of boys did not meet the standard compared with six per cent of girls.

Overall last year 25 per cent of boys were unable to meet requirements in terms of understanding simple instructions, compared with 14 per cent of girls.