Why ‘patience’ and ‘diligence’ drive girls’ historic lead over boys in GCSE results

‘Boys are more impulsive. They want something instantly. They are not as good at the marathon and are more interested in the sprint,’ a headteacher tells Maya Oppenheim

Students at Sullivan Upper School in Holywood, Co Down, celebrate after getting their GCSE results (PA Wire)

While it is widely known girls have been outperforming boys in terms of GCSE level results since the 1980s, it is far harder to discern why. As with most things in life, the answer is complex, multicausal and imbued with nuance.

Although the lead that girls historically have over boys for the top grades grew smaller this year, the gender gulf remains sizeable. About 30 per cent of girls were awarded 7/A or above – which is 7.4 percentage points higher than the male entries – of whom 22.6 per cent gained 7/A or higher. Whereas, last year, girls beat boys by 9 percentage points.

Francesca Craik, executive headteacher of both a mixed school and a girls’ school, has first-hand experience of why this may be the case. Ms Craik, the head of St Wilfrid’s RC College in South Shields and St Anthony’s Catholic Girls School in Sunderland, told The Independent she had spent 20 years teaching in co-ed schools - and that in January she took on being head of the all-girls school.