Mixed-age education?

Via Joanne Jacobs, here's a story about a British school that is experimenting with teaching students of like ability, regardless of age.

Here's a surprising quote:

"We found there were no problems with having older and younger children together. In fact, we were surprised about how well they bonded and learnt together," said the head....

I would have thought the stigma of being stuck with 7th graders when you think of yourself as an 11th grader would be a problem. But, as the article points out, these students already have the stigma of being the worst in their class.

I actually preferred the structure I grew up with, of having advanced and remedial classes for students of the same grade. I always found the advanced classes best, since there's no stigma for being smart and a hard worker when everyone's smart and a hard worker.