School swots who faced a ribbing from their classmates for being too brainy will have the last laugh, according to a new study which found high IQ in childhood is linked to a longer life.

Researchers at Edinburgh University, Oxford and University College London followed up more than 65,000 people who took part in The Scottish Mental Survey in 1947, aged 11 to find out if intelligence as a youngster had affected their life, and death.

They discovered that by the age of 79, having a high IQ lowered the risk of dying from heart disease, stroke, cancer, and respiratory diseases.

They was also a lower risk of dying from injuries, digestive diseases and dementia.