Science Stereotypes Blamed As Girls Lag Behind

Sexism and stereotypes are among the reasons why schoolgirls are underperforming in science at school, a report has concluded.

The poor performance is exposed in new international rankings which shows the UK is in the bottom five globally, just above Colombia and alongside Costa Rica, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The difference between UK girls' and boys' performance in the Pisa science tests is 13% compared with an average gap of just 1%, the report found.

OECD Analyst Francesca Borgonovi said education systems have made strides to close gender gaps in student performance but girls and boys remain deeply divided in career choices.

"While in the large majority of countries there is no gender gap or very small gaps in average science performance, girls underperform considerably in science compared to boys, the equivalent of four months schooling," she said.

"Differences in performance are compounded by a lack of self-confidence in science and mathematics.

"This plays a role in shaping the career decisions that girls make and the fact that the UK, like many other countries, eventually miss out of the great potential of young women to promote economic growth."

She said the UK faces a particular shortage of youngsters prepared to go into key fields in science, technologoy, engineering and mathematics.

On average only 7% of students at age 15 expect to work in those fields, compared to 20% in Poland.

At Wellfield High School in Leyland, Lancashire, teachers have worked to reduce the gap between boys and girls.

Head of science Neil Taylor said the school was breaking down stereotypes.

He said: "If you talk to anybody outside of science community and ask them to explain what a scientist is or what an engineer is they'll come up with a sterotypical male, white coat, bit geeky and the girls try to step back from that.

"We try and quell that myth and promote science, engineering, technology and maths in a gender-friendly way."

Among the solutions now being considered is the introduction of "gender policies" in schools to challenge assumptions about suitable roles for girls and boys.