Boys in the UK lag behind girls after two school years

Boys are lagging behind girls in the basics after just two years at school, according to official figures.

Fewer seven-year-old boys reached the standard expected of them in reading, writing, maths and science than girls of the same age.

The gap was widest in writing, with one in four boys (24.5 per cent) failing to achieve Level 2 compared to around one in seven (13.4 per cent) of girls ­– a gap of 11.1 percentage points. In reading, 88.7 per cent of girls achieved Level 2 – the standard expected of seven-year-olds – compared to 80.9 per cent of boys – a gap of 7.8 percentage points.There was a 3.3 percentage point gap in favour of girls in science, with 90.4 per cent achieving the required level compared to 87.1 per cent of boys.

The gap was smallest in maths, with girls ahead by three percentage points.Each of the gaps has closed marginally since last year, the Department for Education figures show. The statistics, which are for England only, are based on teachers’ assessments of pupils at the end of Key Stage 1. They are broken down by gender, ethnicity and background.