Brit girls more keen than boys to have university degree

British girls are more keen than their male counterparts in securing a university degree, because they see it as an important career enhancing option.

London, Aug.28 : British girls are more keen than their male counterparts in securing a university degree, because they see it as an important career enhancing option.

Research undertaken by the Sutton Trust, an education charity, found that 76 per cent of girls aged 11 to 16 thought they would be likely to go to university, against 67 per cent of boys.

The gap has doubled in the past year, raising concerns that many boys are being left behind by an education system that plays to the strengths of girls and undervalues the achievements of boys.

According to The Times, girls continue to outperform boys at school, although the gap is beginning to show some signs of narrowing.

Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust, said that it was undertaking a large-scale trial with the Government to evaluate a new aptitude test for university admissions, based on the American SAT tests (previously known as the Scholastic Assessment Test).

Initial results show that boys do better than girls at SATs, possibly because of the lack of coursework (which usually favours girls) and the heavy emphasis on multiple-choice questions (which usually favour boys).

Today's survey from the Sutton Trust, conducted by Ipsos MORI and based on responses from 2,400 students, found a far higher proportion of boys than girls suggested they did not plan to go to university as they "do not enjoy learning" - 34 versus 22 per cent.

But girls were more likely than boys to say they were "not clever enough" - 39 versus 24 per cent.

Bill Rammell, the Minister for Higher Education, said that the Government is aiming to tackle these aspiration differences.

ANI