Bullying in schools has been found to have yet another negative impact on children’s performance in mathematics.

“One area of concern that was identified is the high level of bullying prevalent in our schools,” said Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga during the release of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) by the HSRC in Pretoria on Tuesday.

“While South Africa continued to perform at the lower end of the rank order, it’s score improved from TIMMS 2011 to TIMMS 2015 by 20 points for mathematics and 26 points for science. This means from 2003 to 2015, South Africa improved by 87 points for mathematics and 90 points for science,” the HSRC said.