Boys are ‘chronically underperforming’ at GCSE and Britain’s ‘world standing’ will be harmed by it, according to a new report.
Author Professor Alan Smithers believes the issue is being ignored because of ‘fashionable narratives’ that frame boys as ‘privileged’.
His research for Buckingham University predicts boys will lag behind girls as usual when their GCSE results are released this Thursday.
Last year, 24.7 per cent of female entries achieved at least a grade 7 – the equivalent to the old A – 5.7 percentage points higher than the 19 per cent of male entries that achieved it.
Boys have been behind girls in getting these top grades for the last 35 years, with a 1.5 percentage point gap in 1989 rising to 7.3 in 2017.
