Does under-stimulation lead to disruptive behaviour at school? And how can you encourage a bored teen to take an interest in academic work? Raisingkids.co.uk's Education expert, Elizabeth Cook, advises.

Raisingkids member's problem
My 13 yr-old hates school. He finds it very boring and is disruptive in class, to the point where he is excluded from the lessons and also has after-school detentions. We worry he will be 'excluded' if this continues. We fight this one day at a time but we feel that time is running out. He is a bright boy but does not enjoy any part of school life.

Elizabeth's advice
If your son is bright, he's probably bored because he's not being seriously challenged at school. You need to go and discuss your son's problems with the school and see if you can come to some agreement about what needs to be done. They will be as concerned about his lack of involvement as you are.

Go to the school with the expectation that they will want to help and ask for their suggestions on how the problem might be overcome. Working in partnership with the school is the best answer.

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