Figures placed in the House of Commons Library show there was an 87 per cent increase in convictions for the age group, from 1,526 in 1997 to 2,857 in 2007.
Convictions for 13- to 15-year-olds rose by 55 per cent during the same period, while there was an eight per cent increase among 16- to 17-year-olds.
Terri Dowty, policy director at Action on Rights for Children, said the majority of convictions for very young children are a result of low-level offending.
"There is good evidence to show that those children would be better not coming into contact with the criminal justice system," she said.
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