Latest news with #Joint Council for Qualifications
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
GCSE gender gap at narrowest point this century
The gap in GCSE results between boys and girls is now at its narrowest point this century. While girls are still outperforming their male classmates in terms of both top grades and reaching at least a 4/C, their results dropped slightly this year. The narrowing of the gender gap could be down to a combination of reasons, including societal pressures on girls and the continuing impact of the pandemic, education experts suggested. Overall, nearly a quarter (24.5%) of girls' GCSE entries were awarded at least a grade 7/A compared to almost a fifth of boys' entries (19.4%): a 5.1 percentage point gap, according to figures published by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ). Last year, 24.7% of girls' entries scored one of the top grades, compared to 19.0% of those from boys: a 5.7 percentage point gap. This is the narrowest lead enjoyed by girls since at least 2000, which is the earliest archive data available. Meanwhile, 70.5% of girls' GCSE entries were awarded at least a grade 4/C compared to 64.3% of boys' entries – a 6.2 percentage point gap – again the smallest gap in 25 years. In 2024, 71.0% of girls' entries scored at least a grade 4/C, against 64.2% of boys' – a gap of 6.8 percentage points. Pepe Di'Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: 'While we're pleased that boys' GCSE outcomes have improved this year, it is obviously not such good news that girls' outcomes have slightly fallen. 'It is hard to say why this might be the case, and we would welcome further research to identify the factors involved. 'We do know that there are significant pressures on adolescent girls because of wider societal issues around idealised and misogynistic online content and its real-world consequences. 'It would not be surprising if the resulting stress and anxiety impacted on academic performance. 'However, girls continue to outperform boys at GCSE and we also need to deal with the issue of how we improve the aspirations of some groups of boys who currently struggle in the education system.' Jon Andrews, head of analysis and director for school system and performance at the Education Policy Institute (EPI) said: 'As expected, the overall grade distribution for this year is similar to what we have seen in each of the last two years. 'But what is notable is that, while girls continue to outperform boys, the gap continues to close. Our previous analysis showed that girls' outcomes were particularly affected by the pandemic, and there are worrying trends around girls' wellbeing.' A report published by the EPI last year found a narrowing of the gap in reading attainment among primary school boys and girls. While girls remained ahead, their outcomes were the same as before the pandemic, while there was an improvement in boys' reading. Among secondary school pupils, the research found a similar picture – with outcomes for girls falling, while those for their male peers remained largely the same. Ofqual chief Sir Ian Bauckham told PA: 'It has been observed that the gender gap is now at a lower level than it has been for the last 20 years or so, which I think broadly speaking should be taken as good news because a gap in the performance of girls and boys is clearly not something that should be seen as desirable at all. 'As to the reasons why we see these long-term changes, I think it's much harder to be certain. I think there are probably lots of reasons contributing to it. 'It may be different trends that have arisen as a result of the return to normal after the pandemic, but it may be wider social factors as well.'
The Independent
13 hours ago
- General
- The Independent
GCSE gender gap at narrowest point this century
The gap in GCSE results between boys and girls is now at its narrowest point this century. While girls are still outperforming their male classmates in terms of both top grades and reaching at least a 4/C, their results dropped slightly this year. The narrowing of the gender gap could be down to a combination of reasons, including societal pressures on girls and the continuing impact of the pandemic, education experts suggested. Overall, nearly a quarter (24.5%) of girls' GCSE entries were awarded at least a grade 7/A compared to almost a fifth of boys' entries (19.4%): a 5.1 percentage point gap, according to figures published by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ). Last year, 24.7% of girls' entries scored one of the top grades, compared to 19.0% of those from boys: a 5.7 percentage point gap. This is the narrowest lead enjoyed by girls since at least 2000, which is the earliest archive data available. Meanwhile, 70.5% of girls' GCSE entries were awarded at least a grade 4/C compared to 64.3% of boys' entries – a 6.2 percentage point gap – again the smallest gap in 25 years. In 2024, 71.0% of girls' entries scored at least a grade 4/C, against 64.2% of boys' – a gap of 6.8 percentage points. Pepe Di'Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: 'While we're pleased that boys' GCSE outcomes have improved this year, it is obviously not such good news that girls' outcomes have slightly fallen. 'It is hard to say why this might be the case, and we would welcome further research to identify the factors involved. 'We do know that there are significant pressures on adolescent girls because of wider societal issues around idealised and misogynistic online content and its real-world consequences. 'It would not be surprising if the resulting stress and anxiety impacted on academic performance. 'However, girls continue to outperform boys at GCSE and we also need to deal with the issue of how we improve the aspirations of some groups of boys who currently struggle in the education system.' Jon Andrews, head of analysis and director for school system and performance at the Education Policy Institute (EPI) said: 'As expected, the overall grade distribution for this year is similar to what we have seen in each of the last two years. 'But what is notable is that, while girls continue to outperform boys, the gap continues to close. Our previous analysis showed that girls' outcomes were particularly affected by the pandemic, and there are worrying trends around girls' wellbeing.' A report published by the EPI last year found a narrowing of the gap in reading attainment among primary school boys and girls. While girls remained ahead, their outcomes were the same as before the pandemic, while there was an improvement in boys' reading. Among secondary school pupils, the research found a similar picture – with outcomes for girls falling, while those for their male peers remained largely the same. Ofqual chief Sir Ian Bauckham told PA: 'It has been observed that the gender gap is now at a lower level than it has been for the last 20 years or so, which I think broadly speaking should be taken as good news because a gap in the performance of girls and boys is clearly not something that should be seen as desirable at all. 'As to the reasons why we see these long-term changes, I think it's much harder to be certain. I think there are probably lots of reasons contributing to it. 'It may be different trends that have arisen as a result of the return to normal after the pandemic, but it may be wider social factors as well.'
