Hundreds of thousands of pupils to receive GCSE results

On Thursday, hundreds of thousands of pupils across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland will receive their GCSE results. The grades and technical awards will help them progress to sixth form, college, or training. Education experts have raised concerns over the gender gap at GCSE, with girls consistently outperforming boys. In 2024, girls scored 5.7 percentage points more in top grades compared to boys, a similar gap seen in previous years.

Approximately a third of boys' GCSE entries consistently fail to meet the standard pass level of grade four, causing significant concern. This year, the number of male Neets (not in education, employment, or training) surpassed 500,000. The gender gap in education begins as early as age five, with girls consistently outperforming boys.

Some experts suggest that the gender gap could be due to inherent differences, rather than social or educational factors. The Department for Education stated that while girls outperform boys at GCSE, boys excel at A-level, with a slight gap of 0.9 percentage points in top grades. The government is reforming key stage four to provide pupils with a choice between academic and technical pathways.