They are 20 per cent less likely to go to a leading university compared with friends born in September.

And kids born in August are also more likely to be bullied or be unhappy at school, research by the Institute For Fiscal Studies has discovered.

It is thought that the school term starting in September is to blame because August-born kids are in the same year as those born in September – but they are almost 12 months younger.

Other studies have shown September babies have a greater chance of becoming sports stars. And if you are born in certain months you tend to go into certain professions. So does a date really make such a big difference?

A high proportion of GPs and debt collectors are born in January.

Teen mums are more likely to give birth than any other month, according to US statistics.

There are more cases of Alzheimer’s, Crohn’s disease and epilepsy.

CELEB BIRTHS: Nick Clegg, Gary Barlow, Kate Middleton.

High number of artists, as well as traffic wardens.

Prone to the sleep disorder narcolepsy.

Winter babies have a slightly higher risk of schizophrenia and food allergies.

CELEB BIRTHS: Artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Bob Marley, Jennifer Aniston.

Spring babies are thought to be at greater risk of asthma than those born at other times of the year.

March is a peak birth time for creative people including musicians.

There is a spike in births in March and an above-average number of pilots are born in this month.

CELEB BIRTHS: Lady GaGa, Justin Bieber, Bruce Willis.

A study has found that those born between April and July typically live an average of 101 days below their life expectancy.

April babies are more likely to develop an eating disorder, become an alcoholic or suffer from Parkinson’s.

CELEB BIRTHS: Victoria Beckham, Emma Watson.

DICTATOR BIRTHS: Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein.

The lowest chance of captaining England at sport. David Beckham is a rare exception.

People born in spring or early summer have an increased risk of suicide and are more likely to develop anorexia – but the risk of most diseases is slightly lower.

CELEB BIRTHS: Andy Murray, Kylie Minogue, David Beckham.

Babies born this month have a higher risk of developing diabetes and multiple sclerosis.

There is a slight peak in the number of chief executives whose birthday is in June. And five of the past 22 Nobel Peace Prize winners were born this month.

CELEB BIRTHS: Cheryl Cole, Prince William, Angelina Jolie, Alan Carr.

Summer babies are thought to be more optimistic than those born in winter, who have a gloomier outlook.

An Israeli study of 300,000 military applicants found that June and July babies have a higher risk of suffering from short-sightedness.

Train drivers and bricklayers are more likely to be born in July.

The worst month to be born. August babies are more likely to struggle at school and score substantially lower in national achievement tests.

An above average proportion of hairdressers are born during this month.

CELEB BIRTHS:Barack Obama, Mother Teresa, Stephen Fry, Bill Clinton, Roger Federer.

The highest achievers in school tend to be born in September.

In 2002 scientists at Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research announced that people born in the autumn live longer than those born in spring – and are less likely to become as ill in old age.

CELEB BIRTHS: Charlie Sheen, Beyonce, Hugh Grant, Amy Winehouse.

More likely to live the longest – outliving those born in March by an average of 215 days.

Babies born in autumn are also reckoned to be more sporty. Those with birthdays in the springtime are said to be nine per cent less active.

CELEB BIRTHS: Wayne Rooney, Simon Cowell, Margaret Thatcher, David Cameron, Zac Efron.

Seventeen serial killers were born in November, compared with an average of nine for other months, out of a total of more than 100 in the study.

Those born in November are most likely to believe they get a raw deal. A 2005 study found that they grow up to be the most pessimistic.

CELEB BIRTHS: Gordon Ramsay, Leonardo DiCaprio, P Diddy, Bjork.

You have a lower risk of asthma if your birthday is in this month. An above average number of dentists are born in December.

Winter babies are more likely to have bipolar disorder or have less educated mothers, according t