The curriculum, though, is still dominated by the dead white male syndrome. There is an overwhelmingly male focus on achievements, such as the strong dominance of male authors in English, or in history with its emphasis on politics, economics and international affairs, ignoring the experience of women. Even in technology, girls choose food technology while boys choose craft and design technology. There are some differences in Scotland. The results of these uniform tests provide an excellent data base for judging, among other things, how our brightest girls are doing with so many cards stacked against them.
Exam results The picture which is emerging appears to be different from that in other countries.
In every school subject at GCSE level, British girls are scoring higher than boys, and at A-level they are only marginally behind in physics. And even that gap is closing. Physical education remains the only subject in the National Curriculum where girls regularly perform worse than boys. Consequently, boys' examination performances have become the subject of national concern. Everywhere there is talk of 'girl power' and 'the future is female'.