In a retrospective analysis of paediatric referrals to a Neurology outpatients clinic, the largest single category of 47 patients (32%) presented with acute recurrent headache. There were 30 girls and 17 boys. Using conventional criteria 43 of the children could be classified as classical migraine ( 10 ), common migraine (20), basilar migraine (3), opthalmoplegic migraine (1) and tension headache (9). The 9 children with tension headache, all girls, had pain char-acteristics distinct from the rest, but in terms of severity and duration of headache attacks ,were similar to those with classical migraine, which is against the theory that tension headache and migraine are at different ends of the spectrum of the same process. These findings are consis-tent with recent adult data, but have not been noted in paediatric work. (Copied from article).