Gifted children are just as likely to fail in life.

Ha! Take that, kids who are smarter and more talented than me! Or should I say... LOSERS! Item!

Exceptionally talented children are just as likely to fail in life as succeed according to a new study.

In one of the most extensive studies carried out, research found that out of 210 gifted children followed into later life, only three per cent were found to fulfil their early promise.

Professor Joan Freeman, said that of 210 children in her study, 'maybe only half a dozen might have been what we might consider conventionally successful.'

'At the age of six or seven, the gifted child has potential for amazing things, but many of them are caught in situations where their potentials is handicapped.'

Professor Freeman tracked the development of children who had exceptional ability in fields such as maths, art or music from 1974 to the present day.

Many of those who failed to excel did so because the 'gifted' children were treated and in some cases robbed of their childhood, the study found.

In some cases pushy parents put the children under too much pressure, or they were separated from their peer group, so they ended up having few friends.