In another alarming development, specialists are sounding the alarm on the academic futures of British girls. This year, the gap between boys’ and girls’ GCSE results is the smallest ever recorded. As new data rightfully reveals the alarming trend that girls’ pass rates have decreased, while boys’ outcomes have increased marginally, it gets worse. These conditions beg the question, what is causing girls to perform academically worse than boys?
To see the extent of these educational disparities, Girlguiding, which inspires and supports more than 300,000 girls aged four to eighteen, has raised a concern. In 2025, only 64.3% of boys passed. Meanwhile, 70.5% of girls cleared their exams. In fact, girls have typically done better than boys in terms of passing their GCSEs. This year’s data shows we’ve made a counterproductive and alarming turn from that trend.
As for the Covid-19 pandemic, with teacher-assessed grades resulting in greater pass rates for each gender in 2020 and 2021, men passed at a greater rate than women. Despite this upward trend, by 2021, the difference between boys’ and girls’ scores had grown to its largest extent. The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) has investigated whether there is a “systematic divergence between teacher-based results and test-based results,” especially considering the stark differences observed during the pandemic.
An OECD study published this past March shows girls continuing to lag behind boys in key areas such as math and science. This gap has continued to grow after 2020. That widening chasm has raised alarms across the nation among educators and policy makers.
Dr. Jennie Golding, a professor at University College London, commented on the situation, stating, “We know that all sorts of aspects of emotional wellbeing impact academic performance – they are all interrelated.”
Despite the narrowing gap in overall results, experts like Natalie Perera, chief executive of the Education Policy Institute (EPI), highlight the importance of addressing girls’ declining attainment. She stated, “We do need to start looking at what’s driving the decline in girls’ attainment before it gets too late.”
In addition to these barriers, Amanda Azeez, interim chief executive of Girlguiding, highlighted wider systemic issues affecting girls’ education. “Mounting societal pressures and misogyny are having a devastating impact on girls, their mental wellbeing and confidence,” she said.
It’s well established in research that girls as young as seven years old tend to be lonelier and are less likely to have supportive friends. Being isolated takes a toll on their self-worth. This emotional distress comes at a time of increased absenteeism among students. The rate of kids who are chronically absent from class has increased since the pandemic. This rise is especially pronounced in females.
Perera made it clear that several facets play into this problem. “You can draw a reasonable hypothesis, which suggests that if girls aren’t getting enough sleep if they’re experiencing anxiety or even things like eating disorders, that is likely to affect their attendance, how well they’re able to concentrate in school, and how well they’re able to perform on exam day,” she noted.
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, emphasized the need for more research into why girls are falling behind academically. He called for emotional wellbeing measures to be included as part of Ofsted inspections. “Start measuring those in your Ofsted inspections, and you very quickly turn around priorities in schools,” he stated.
This has led to increased concern over the long-term impacts of girls’ slipping academic performance. Perera warned that if this trend persists, it would lower postsecondary attendance and harm participation in the labor market and wage parity.
