Fall in young women doing science A Levels ‘deplorable’ – too few girls are encouraged to pursue ‘non-stereotypical’ subjects 

Today’s A Level results show a disappointing fall in girls’ A Level entries in physics, chemistry and biology (from 59,021 to 58,923), although the proportions of girls doing these subjects remained unchanged.

Diana Gerald, Acting Chief Executive of the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST), said:

“Not only are fewer women studying science subjects at A Level, the OECD also found earlier this year that the UK has the highest ‘science gender gap’ (as measured by the out-performance in science subjects of boys relative to girls) in the developed world.

“That too few girls are encouraged to pursue ‘non stereotypical’ subjects such as sciences is deplorable. The long-lasting knock-on effects include a narrower range of higher education subject choices and fewer career opportunities for women. The science gender gap is also fuelling the gender pay gap.

“Based on the results we achieve in GDST schools, much more can and should be done to encourage more girls to study science and other ‘non-stereotypical’ subjects. The UK would have been better off by over 9,000 more school-leavers with an A Level in physics, 22,000 more with one in chemistry, and 18,000 more biology A Levels in 2008, if more girls were empowered to take sciences in their schools as they are at GDST schools.”

Mrs Valerie Dunsford, Headmistress of Sheffield High School, added:

“We have high expectations of what our students can achieve, in work and in life. We show them that there are no ‘girl’s’ or ‘boy’s’ subjects – everything is a girl’s subject.”

Some examples of the notable science and maths successes this year include:

One third of the A Level students (22 out of 66 girls) from Shrewsbury High School will be going on to study Science or Engineering degrees at many of the best ranked universities in the country.

All six Further Maths students at Sheffield High School not only all achieved A grades in their further maths but they also all achieved five A grades each (including AS subjects). Among them are:

• Nicola Chan-Lam, the U18 National Singles Badminton Champion, who is off to read Maths and Actuarial Science at Manchester with her five A grades in German, Maths, Further Maths and Physics. She also has an A grade in Sports Studies at AS. 
• Isabel Henley who is off to Durham to read Maths, having gained her A grades in Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Further Maths with AS History. 
• Amy Ruddleston who has gained a place at Edinburgh University to study Engineering. She gained five A grades in Biology, Chemistry, Maths, Further Maths at A Level, and AS History.
• Head girl Taj Tomouk has achieved five A grades and a merit in the Advanced Extension Award in Biology. The talented all-rounder, who has competed in athletics and hockey for the school, is going onto study medicine at Cambridge following her resounding success in achieving A grades in Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Further Maths, with AS German.
• Wen Jun Zhu is the last of the Further Maths group and her success is perhaps the most remarkable. She joined the school in Year 11 from China knowing little of the English language and with no family here, staying with a guardian and then latterly living independently. Wen Jun passed her Further Maths, Maths, Chinese and Chemistry all at grade A, and also AS Economics.

At Putney High School, well over half of all girls took science, maths or further maths, with four out of five entries achieving an A grade. 15 girls (nearly a quarter of the students) are now planning to study science-based university courses, including medicine, making these more popular than any other course.

Girls at Portsmouth High School also had some excellent successes:

• Helen Gaffney, Deputy Head Girl, gained five straight As in Chemistry, Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Physics and English Literature, and will be heading to Trinity Hall, Cambridge, to study Natural Sciences.
• Kirsten Thomson, another Portsmouth High School student, will also be heading to Cambridge to study Natural Sciences at Newnham College, having gained As in Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, and Further Mathematics.
• Sixth Form Scholar Catherine Maclennan will be studying Medicine at Clare College, Cambridge, after achieving straight As in Chemistry, Mathematics, Further Mathematics and Physics.  
• After achieving straight As in Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics, Gisu Jones will be studying Veterinary Science at Edinburgh University.

Central Newcastle High School students also excelled:

• Miwa Murai got five A grades listed in Biology, Chemistry, IT, Mathematics and Spanish. Her results win her a place at King’s College London to study Medicine. She said “I am absolutely delighted, I certainly wasn’t expecting five straight A’s. I have a real interest in Emergency Medicine and would love to work for Medecins Sans Frontiers in the future, to me it seems like the ultimate in Medicine! London is obviously a big draw, and I am really looking forward to starting my course which has a really good reputation. I can’t wait!’
• Olympic hopeful Rachel Haigh hit gold with three As in Biology, Chemistry and Maths. Rachel swims for Team GB and has her eyes set on the London 2012 but also plans to become a dentist. Her results mean that she will be studying Dentistry at Leeds University while she continues to train. “While I always have the Olympics in mind, my more immediate goal is the Commonwealth Games in India next year” she said. ‘It has been a challenging two years training and studying for my A Levels at Central High. I wanted to achieve high standards in both and I think I have proven that this can be achieved! It has required good time management and organisation.”
• With three A grades Jennifer Barclay has secured her place to study Medicine at Newcastle University. “I was originally interested in Nursing but as I began to study for my GCSEs I decided I would like to study Medicine. Medicine covers all the areas I enjoy – science, problem solving and working with people. I can’t wait to start in September.”

At Northampton High School:

• Rhianna Palmer achieved A grades in Business Studies, Maths, Further Maths, and Physics and is going on to study Maths at Southampton University.
• Rebecca Welch gained A’s in Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Religious Studies, and is going to Manchester University to study Physics and Philosophy.

Also, at Ipswich High School:

• Lucy Poulton gained four A grades, in Biology, Chemistry, Maths, and Spanish, and is going on to read Medicine at Cambridge University (Queens College).
• Rhianna Davies got four A grades, in Biology, Chemistry, Geography and Physics and is going on to read Medicine at Imperial College, London.
• Alexandra Penrose gained three A grades, in Biology, Chemistry and Maths, and is going on to read Veterinary medicine at Bristol University.
• Rosie Petch also got three A grades, in Biology, Chemistry and Spanish, and is going on to read Dentistry at Newcastle University.

Ends

Notes for editors:

Initial results for GDST schools in 2009 (based on 941 students from 15 schools) indicate that c.3.3% of A Level entries are in physics (compared to 1.4% for girls nationally); c.9% of entries are in chemistry (compared to 4.5% for girls nationally) and c.11% are in biology (compared to 7% for girls nationally).

Please note that these are percentages of entries, not the percentage of the GDST candidates sitting these exams, which are 10.7% for physics, 29.2% for chemistry and 35.9% for biology.

These are consistent with previous years’ results:
 

If the same proportion of the 447,641 A Level entries from girls nationally last year (2008) had been in sciences as the proportions from girls at GDST Sixth Forms, this would translate as 9,065 more school-leavers with an A Level in physics, 22,660 more with one in chemistry and 18,479 more with a biology A Level.

How did we work this out? Taking physics as an example, and using figures from the JCQ:

Total number of A Level entries from girls in 2008 = 447,641
x 3.4% (GDST average proportion) =   15,219
Take away 6,155, the actual number of A Level entries from girls =   9,065

These proportions of GDST students taking sciences are consistent over time:

Initial results also show that over 54% of GDST girls who sat a science A Level in 2009 got an A in that subject.

The report of the ‘Women and Work’ commission published in July identified occupational segregation and gender stereotyping in career choices for girls among the causes of the gender pay gap. It stated “we were … disappointed by the lack of action taken by Government to break down stereotypes in the education system” and went on to say “we feel that the DCSF needs to make breaking down gender stereotypes … a much higher priority. DCSF must ensure that gender equality issues are considered as a matter of course across all their initiatives and policies. This is important if we are ever to tackle gender stereotyping in the education system.”

A study by the Institute of Education using 1958 and 1970 cohort data showed that those who went to single sex schools were more likely to study subjects not traditionally associated with their gender, and to have more confidence in their ability to do well in these subjects. The IoE study also found that at University women who went to girls’ schools were more likely than co-educated women to gain qualifications in subjects typically dominated by men, and that girls who went to mixed comprehensives were earning an average of £7.92 an hour in their early forties, compared with £8.33 for those who went to girls-only comprehensives. The difference between mixed and all-girl grammar schools was more marked, at £10.18 and £11.18 respectively. (The National Child Development Study (1958) and The British Child Development Study (1970), The Centre for Longitudinal Studies, Institute of Education, www.cls.ioe.ac.uk)

A report in June this year from the OECD’s PISA study identified the UK as having the widest ‘science gender gap’ with boys outperforming girls in school science in the UK more than in any other developed country. The study also notes that the choices that boys and girls make about higher education and careers can reflect social stereotypes more than student ability.

A 2006 survey of GDST alumnae who did science A Levels showed that 45% of respondents said that they were encouraged to study science at A Level due to teachers’ and school influence. Former GDST students who have gone on to careers in science and medicine include:

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff, Professor of Palliative Medicine and President of the Royal Society of Medicine.

Dr Pat Goodwin, Head of Department (Pathogens, Immunology and Population Studies) at the Wellcome Trust where she has overall responsibility for both Immunology and Infectious Disease, and Populations and Public Health, which are at the forefront of research into tropical diseases such as HIV, malaria, tuberculosis and avian flu.

Dr Vivienne Nathanson, Director of Professional Activities, the British Medical Association, a role which encompasses all the professional areas of work including Ethics, Science, Public Health Policy, Diversity, Patient Liaison, International Affairs, Medical Education, and Conferencing.

Dr Alison Hodge MBE, Fellow of both the Institute of Physics and Institution of Electrical Engineers, registered as Chartered Engineer and European Engineer (EurIng), and has served as a Member of Institute of Physics Council.

The Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST) is one of the largest, longest established and most successful groups of independent schools in the UK, with 4,000 staff and 20,000 students between the ages of three and 18. As a charity that owns and runs a family of 29 schools in England and Wales, it reinvests all its income in its schools. With a long history of pioneering innovation in the education of girls, the GDST also educates boys in some of its schools, and has two co-educational sixth form colleges. For a list of GDST schools go to http://www.gdst.net