According to a recent newspaper article, girls do better than boys at every level of education. So it is hardly surprising that women are now far more likely than men to go to universities.

“Eclipsed” (黯然失色)

Mary Curnock Cook, a leader of the University and College Admissions Service, is so worried about the future of boys that she wants to see a national effort to solve the issue. If this differential growth carries on unchecked, girls born this year will be 75% more likely to go to university than their male peers (同伴).

So what is at the root of this gap? Are there changes in the nature of universities which have led to the dominance of women on campus? Are girls simply better at schoolwork these days, and boys less interested?

By the time teenagers get to their high school, girls are already greatly outnumbering boys. So before they sit a single exam, there are probably more girls than boys who are likely to go to university.

“Waste of time?”

The average grade for a girl is C+ compared to C for a boy at A-level examinations. But the differences between boys and girls start much earlier on.

According to a University of Bristol study, boys are nearly twice as likely as girls to have fallen behind by the time they start school. Primary schools often have more female teachers, and mothers helping out.

According to the study, girls and boys often have different attitudes towards schoolwork. The report says:”Boys are more likely than girls to regard school as a waste of time.” What’s more, boys tend to spend over one hour less per week on homework than girls. They are more likely to play computer games and less likely to read outside of school.

“There are a lot of boys thinking they can get away with the least work and wanting to spend their time doing other ‘more interesting things’,” says Roger Leighton, the former head teacher of Sydney Russell School. “Girls, on the other hand, tend to understand the need to work hard earlier on --- they take a longer view.”

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