Boys more likely to get lower GCSEs than girls this week because they spent more time playing PlayStation games during the Covid lockdown than studying, expert says
- Professor Alan Smithers says Covid has widened the GCSE results gender gap
- He estimates around 250,000 fewer GCSEs will be awarded the ‘pass’ mark of 4
- Prof Smithers says evidence ‘stacking up’ that boys used Covid for PlayStation
Boys are more likely to receive lower GCSE results than girls this week because they spent more time playing PlayStation games during lockdown than studying, an expert has said.
Professor Alan Smithers, Buckingham University director of education, says Covid has further widened the GCSE gender gap as school pupils prepare to receive their results on Thursday.
In England, GCSEs are graded from nine to one, with a seven seen as equivalent to what would have previously been an A-grade and four to a low C.
Wales and Northern Ireland continue to use lettered grades, while schoolchildren in Scotland do not take GCSEs.
Prof Smithers has estimated that around 250,000 fewer GCSEs will be awarded the considered pass mark of 4, compared with results last year, The Times reports.
But this will still be around 260,000 higher than pass grades pupils received prior to the pandemic in 2019.
He said: ‘With the return to objective exams, the gap might be expected to narrow, but evidence is stacking up that during lockdown boys were inclined to escape to their PlayStations, while girls applied themselves more consistently.’
Professor Alan Smithers, Buckingham University director of education, says boys are more likely to get lower GCSE results than girls this week because they spent more time playing PlayStation games during lockdown (stock image)
Prof Smithers has estimated that around 250,000 fewer pass-mark GCSEs will be awarded this week
The use of video games soared while the UK was in lockdown, with many children stuck indoors for long periods.
Exam watchdog Ofqual has been told to move grades towards around halfway between GCSE results received in 2021 and pre-Covid levels.
For grades of seven or higher, equivalent to an A, this will mean they should make up around a quarter of all grades.
But this will mean 230,000 fewer top grades in the UK this year compared to 2021.
It comes after top A-level grades took the biggest drop ever registered in the 70-year history of the qualification last week.
Almost 40 per cent of students across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are thought likely to make use of the Clearing system to get a place on a course, with admissions service Ucas saying more than 27,000 are available as well as apprenticeship options.
While there were scenes of joy at many schools, some parents reported ‘tears in the car park’ – with up to 60,000 pupils set to fall short of the grades needed for their chosen university course.
It follows grade inflation during the pandemic when exams were cancelled and teachers decided on marks instead.
Students collecting their results have faced a difficult few years of education due to the pandemic, with months of learning from home and also competing against deferred places from last year’s teacher assessed-exams when grades were unusually high.
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