POOR children should attend school for more hours and take shorter summer holidays than wealthier children, to help close the attainment gap, according to one of the most influential education experts in Scotland.

Keir Bloomer, a key architect of the Scottish Government’s flagship education policy, the Curriculum for Excellence, pointed to the success of similar schemes in America.

Mr Bloomer is also chairman of the Court of Queen Margaret University and chairs the Commission on School Reform.

He believes that failure to get to grips with the gap would be “disastrous”and “condemn people to poor-quality lifestyles”, likely to lead to higher levels of unemployment, a reliance on welfare benefits and higher rates of crime.

He spoke as the Sunday Herald begins a series of State of the Nation articles, starting with an analysis of the attainment gap in schools and what needs to be done to fix it .

He maintained that while the Scottish Government was addressing overall standards and teaching, it would not remove the gap unless disadvantaged children get “additional high-quality opportunities” and “extra provision”, including longer school days.

“The disadvantaged learners have got to get something extra. We are just going to have to alter school days.”

Education Secretary John Swinney said: “Through the Scottish Attainment Challenge, we are encouraging schools to work in closer collaboration with each other.

“ We want them to develop their own approaches, drawing on evidence-based practice and sharing their results.”