Gender gap doubles in GCSEs

Thursday 25 February 2016

The gulf between boys and girls at GCSE level has doubled in the past three years, according to new figures published by Education.

The gap in attainment between genders in Jersey at Key Stage 4 – which describes the two years of education for pupils aged 14 to 16, ending with GCSEs – has jumped from around 7% in 2012/13 to almost 14% in 2014/15.

In the last academic year, when it came to achieving ‘five or more GCSEs or equivalent qualifications at grade A* to C including English and maths’, girls outperformed boys by a considerable margin. In 2014/15, around two-thirds (64.2%) of girls reached this ‘key indicator’ compared to around a half (50.6%) of boys.

The widening gap between boys and girls at GCSE level in Jersey mirrors the picture in the UK, although the gap at A-Level is far narrower and closing.

It has been suggested that boys are typically better at end-of-course exams while girls favour coursework and more long-term projects. GCSEs are currently changing and students will be assessed entirely on their exam performance from next year.

The Education report into GCSEs for 2014/15, which is published today, also reveals that:

- The percentage of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs at grade A* to C, including English and maths, was 57.1% - slightly lower than in 2013/14 (58.7%). The results were, however, four percentage points up on 2012/13 (53.1%).

- The proportion of students achieving grade A* to C in maths rose by 3%. In contrast, the proportion in English achieving the same grade bracket fell by 3%.

- The percentage of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs at grade A* to C, including English and maths, in Jersey in 2014/15 was more or less on a par with the UK. However, in English, 61.2% of pupils in Jersey achieved the A* to C benchmark compared to 65.8% in the UK.