Young children are stimulated intellectually by older children. Vertical grouping provides each class with pupils who set an example, which increases the social maturity of the younger ones. The personal methods which a teacher develops achieve full value as continuity over a number of years is assured. The children have a broader social experience with opportunities to lead and to follow, to collaborate and to make stable peer relationships. The wider context of the mixed age group is closer to reality than the contributed one of the narrow age group.
Older children develop self-reliance and responsibility.
This is excellent preparation for secondary school.