Parents have higher educational aspirations for their daughters

Parents have higher aspirations for their daughters than their sons, according to new research published yesterday.

Figures show 66.7 per cent of parents with daughters aged between 11 and 16 wanted them to go to university. However, for those with sons, the figure went down to 61.7 per cent.

When the children themselves were questioned, the trend confirmed girls were more ambitious, with 79.9 per cent wanting to go on into higher education compared with just 75.5 per cent of boys.

The figures emerged in a survey of 137,000 parents and 280,000 pupils at more than 500 secondary schools in England by research firm Kirkland Rowell.

They come at a time when ministers are expressing growing concern about the performance of boys in school. They fare worse than girls in almost every national curriculum test from the age of seven to 14, as well as in GCSE exams and A-levels. Girls are now in the majority when it comes to applying to university as well.

Mick Brookes, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: "We know that boys' under-achievement is one of the biggest priorities for the Government.

"Certainly, from my teaching experience, you just get a feeling that being well educated is seen as an un-macho thing to be.

"I think this is an interesting survey and worrying if parents are reinforcing this stereotype of boys."

Mr Brookes added: "You have to get the parents - and particularly the fathers - more involved with their children's education. Then you may be able tackle this."

Mark Chaplin, managing director of Kirkland Rowell, told the Times Educational Supplement that the findings indicated that girls' achievement was driven by their parents' ambitions for them at an early age.

Kate Myers, an expert in gender at Cambridge University, added: "The fact that the girls are getting positive feedback from their schoolteachers encourages them to think university is an option.

"Once parents wanted their daughters to find a husband who could support them, now they look to a university degree for support."

Following the publication of its report into the reasons for the low academic achievements of Afro-Caribbean boys last month, the National Union of Teachers revealed at its annual conference that it was planning to look into the performance of white boys.

Last month's report urged both parents and teachers to have higher expectations of black boys.

David Blunkett, when he was education secretary, urged schools to stock more non-fiction books and action adventure stories - to foster more of a love of reading. He said research showed boys were less likely than girls to be interested in the classics - such as Jane Austen's novels.

Research shows that - in 2006 - 25.1 per cent of girls at A-level got an A-grade pass compared with 22.8 per cent of boys.

At GCSE, 54.6 per cent of boys got at least five A* to C grade passes - the benchmark for going on to take A-levels. However, 64 per cent of girls reached the same level.

In 2006-07 so far, only 31 per cent of university applications have come from boys. However, statistics show that women - on average - only earn 82.9 per cent of men's pay.

Research also shows that Scottish parents have higher aspirations for their children than either English or Welsh parents.