Your parents have probably described you as a "red rag to a bull" at least once in your lifetime.

Probably even after a hard day at school. It's not just bovines that react to colour, though, with the study of "colour psychology" among people widely investigated by academics.

A primary school in Broughty Ferry, Dundee, is now considering showing the red card to its current uniform colour scheme in a bid to calm down pupils.

Staff at Eastern Primary School, with a roll of around 409 pupils and 23 teachers, are in the process of consulting parents over a move to a grey uniform while retaining but scaling down the traditional red.

A letter sent out by head teacher Gillian Knox, as published in the Dundee Evening Telegraph, read: "As a staff team, we have discussed the impact of the colour red in the environment.

"Red is often used in places to stimulate and energise the body and mind, and some research indicates that it can increase heart and breathing rates - not the calm, relaxed learning state we hope to achieve.

"A recent study linked the red to impaired performance on achievement tasks. Our staff feel that red needs to remain a key element of our uniform but that it would be best used in small amounts, for example, in our school tie."

The study Color and Psychological Functioning: The Effect of Red on Performance Attainment, written jointly by professors at the universities of Rochester (America) and Munich (Germany), backs up these claims.

Researchers carried out a number of experiments testing the colour red against several others such as green and the more neutral white, black and grey.

In the general, they write: "We moved beyond self-report data to examine the link between red and avoidance motivation with behavioural and psycho-physiological measures.

"These experiments demonstrated that the perception of red prior to an achievement task, relative to the perception of green or an achromatic colour, indeed evokes avoidance motivation, as indicated by participants' choice of easy relative to difficult tasks

"The finding that a brief glimpse of red impairs performance is provocative in and of itself, but it is particularly striking that red impairs performance on IQ tests.

"More broadly, our research raises the possibility that red may have extensive effects across achievement contexts and achievement outcomes.

"Red is encountered by students, employees, and athletes in myriad manifestations on a daily basis and may not only negatively influence intellectual performance, as demonstrated herein, but also physical performance and other important outcomes such as persistence, aspiration levels, and intrinsic motivation."

The writers do admit a study published in 2005 found red enhanced performance, particularly in a sporting context.

Parents and pupils in Broughty Ferry are reportedly just as split over the change, with their feedback differing to that of the staff members.

A Dundee City Council spokesman said: "The school is currently consulting about options for the uniform.

"Feedback is being encouraged and the school will keep pupils and families informed about developments."