Girls continue to out-perform boys at GCSE

Oct 19 2007

GIRLS continue to outperform boys in Merseyside’s schools, according to official GCSE figures released last night.

Pass rates for Liverpool and Sefton saw a gap of around 8% between the amount of girls achieving five A*-C grades and boys in 2007, with Knowsley seeing a 6.2% difference and Wirral having a gap of more than 10%.

Most boroughs in Merseyside have seen improvement in grades this year, with Liverpool figures rising from 53.9% to 57.4% for five A*-C grades and Sefton from 61.9% to 63.5%.

The highest scoring borough in the region was Warrington, with a pass rate of 69.9%, compared with a national average of 60.3%.

Results in Knowsley have improved for the ninth year to 50.4%.

However, figures for pupils achieving five higher grade passes including maths and English are much lower. In Knowsley it falls by nearly half to 26.3%, in Liverpool to 35.8% and in Sefton to 45.7%.

A spokesman for Knowsley council said grades in the core subjects were improving: "We have seen a slight increase in passes for maths and English.

"If functional maths and English qualifications such as ALAN (Adult Literacy and Numeracy) were included in the statistics, as they will be next year, this figure would be higher at 36%.

"Knowsley is starting from a low base and recognises that although progress is being made a radical transformation in how we teach children and young people is needed if we are to really improve exam results.

"That’s why Knowsley is a trailblazer for Building Schools for the Future. We are the only council in the UK to replace all of our secondary schools with seven learning centres designed for future schooling. The learning centres will see classrooms replaced by flexible learning spaces. Pupils will have access to the latest technology and will benefit from modern teaching methods."

A Liverpool council spokesman said the gap between girls and boys was narrowing. "Schoolchildren in Liverpool are achieving the best-ever GCSE results and the percentage of pupils getting good grades has almost doubled since 1999.

"There has been an improvement in the results of boys and girls at GCSE, and the gap between girls and boys has narrowed from 9.3% to 8.1% compared to last year, beating the national average of 9.2%.

"We will continue to work intensively with schools to share the most successful approaches to teaching and learning and support those where there is evidence of under-achievement."

The new statistics are official figures released by the Department of Education and Skills (DfES), which collate the GCSE exam results announced in August.

Cllr Peter Dowd, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services at Sefton council, added: "It is great to see Sefton performing so well once again and leading the way in Merseyside for pupils gaining five A-C grades and five A-G grades.

"It is even more encouraging that our overall performance has once again improved on the high standards of the previous year.

"We are very proud of the hard work and commitment of our pupils, teachers and support staff and our congratulations go to everyone involved."