OUR FAILING EDUCATION SYSTEM IS TURNING OFF A LOT OF BOYS

As hard-hitting Netflix drama Adolescence brings to the fore the problems of toxic masculinity in teenage boys, former Tory MP Miriam Cates is leading the charge to teach them self-control through positive male influences and be given the chance to play physically aggressive sports

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A STAR among the Tory MPs elected in Boris Johnson's 2019 landslide has found a new mission as a champion of Britain's "lost boys" growing up without hope and often without a father.

Miriam Cates impressed parliamentary colleagues with her combination of zest and courage, and was spoken of as a future contender to lead the Conservative Party.

Now she champions the role of fathers and battles on behalf of boys who are in danger of falling through the cracks in modern Britain.

There were 550,000 lads aged between 16 and 24 not in education, work or training last year, according to the Centre for Social Justice, where she is now a senior fellow.

She wants to build a society where masculine strengths are valued, where boys learn self-control by wrestling with their dads and playing rugby, and where children's lives are not ruined through exploitation by social media giants.

Ms Cates, 42, fears boys today are often failed by a state school system which delivers a "style of education that suits girls but really, really switches off a lot of boys".

"If you look at state schools they do hardly any sport," she says.

"They don't do things like rugby too risky; they don't do anything where there's a health and safety implication, and yet those are the kind of things that boys need to test themselves out. To give them the kind of experiences which will help them grow into a man."

She contrasts this with the situation at fee-paying schools.

"You look at how independent schools operate," she says. "Huge amounts of sport, especially for boys, lots of competition, lots of opportunities to compete against your peers and against other schools, lots of team sport."