Boys underperforming in GCSEs ‘will hold UK back’

The “chronic” underperformance of boys at GCSE level should be treated as a “major issue”, a leading education expert has warned.

- ELEANOR BUSBY

Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham, said the talents of boys are not being developed as “fully” as they could be, which could lead to a “decline in the nation’s economic competitiveness”. He went on to predict that “girls will continue to be ahead” of boys at that age group.

His comments come before pupils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland receive their GCSE results on Thursday.

Prof Smithers said: “The apparent underperformance of boys at this stage of education should be a matter of national concern. But because boys are habitually seen as privileged, it does not receive the attention it deserves.”

Last year, more than a fifth (21.8 per cent) of UK GCSE entries were awarded the top grades - at least a 7 or an A grade, down from 22.0 per cent in 2023. But it remained higher than in 2019 – the year before the pandemic - when 20.8 per cent of GCSE entries scored the top grades.

The proportion of total female entries awarded grade 7/A or above was 24.7 per cent last year - 5.7 percentage points higher than total male entries (19.0 per cent).