Daily Times

The gender gap trend in student numbers starts as young as 13 when girls are more likely than boys to believe that going to university is important, research revealed today.

Just 36 percent of boys enter higher education compared with 46 percent of girls and researchers found that even when pupils are 13 or 14, girls had more positive attitudes towards university.

The statistics may explain the growing disparity in university admissions between the sexes as aspiring to go on to higher education by 15 or 16 makes a big difference to A-level choices.

The study from Oxford University showed data from 3,000 young people found almost 65 percent of girls in Year Nine thought it very important to go to university, compared with 58 percent of boys. Over half of all the Year Nine pupils surveyed thought it was very important to get a degree, compared with only 13 percent who said it was of little or very little importance.

One in 10 girls felt it was not important to get a degree, but among boys the proportion declaring university of little importance was 15 percent, according to the study published by The Sutton Trust.

Pupils aged 15 and 16 with similar GCSE results were twice as likely to go on to do three A-levels if they saw university as a likely goal for them.

Professor Kathy Sylva, the report’s co-author, said this could explain the gap in admissions later. She said, “The higher aspirations of girls in comparison to boys may be linked to their greater A-level success and gaining admission to university.”

The report also found that disadvantaged students were less likely to think they would go on to university, with only 27 percent having high aspirations compared with 39 percent of their better-off peers.

The chief executive of The Sutton Trust, a foundation which promotes social mobility, called on schools to raise pupils’ aspirations.

Sir Peter Lampl said, “We need to offer more support to disadvantaged young people throughout their education so that they are in a position to fulfil their potential after GCSE.” The government said the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their classmates has narrowed since 2011 and British Prime Minister David Cameron has promised to double the proportion of disadvantaged young people entering higher education by the end of this Parliament, from 2009 levels.

A spokesman said, “We have introduced a more rigorous curriculum so every child, regardless of their background, learns the basics they need, such as English and maths, so they can go on to fulfil their potential, whether that’s into the world of work or continuing their studies, and encouraging more young people, particularly girls, to study Stem subjects.”