Analysis of post-Covid performance overturns recent claims that boys are falling behind girls at school

Boys in England have opened a wide gap over girls in maths and science, based on analysis by researchers using an authoritative international assessment, overturning recent claims that boys are falling behind girls at school.

Researchers at University College London (UCL) found that boys in year 5 and year 9 at school in England “scored significantly higher than girls in maths and science” in recent international assessments, compared with those conducted before the Covid pandemic.