"Low take-up of physics among girls in co-ed schools: figures ‘shocking but not surprising"
Nearly half (49%) of all co-ed maintained schools in England do not send even one girl on to do physics A Level, according to a report from the Institute of Physics (IOP).
Commenting on the issue, Head of The Royal High School, Rebecca Dougall said:
“The figures uncovered by the Institute of Physics, highlighting the low numbers of girls studying physics in many co-ed schools, are shocking but not, I’m sorry to say, particularly surprising.
“For a girl to choose physics in a co-ed school is often viewed as a brave choice or a risky move. Teenage girls (and boys for that matter) are often desperate to fit in with their peer group, and can be concerned at the prospect of doing anything that might make them stand out from the crowd (which makes a girl studying a subject which some might view as ‘unfeminine’ much more of a social risk). The key ages for this sort of self-consciousness are the years from age 13 to 16, just when pupils are choosing which subjects they want to take for their GCSEs and A Levels.
“On the other hand, there is less stereotyping in girls’ schools. When there are only other girls in the classroom, then every subject from art and drama to physics and further maths is naturally a girls’ subject, just as when there are only girls in the orchestra, every instrument from the piccolo to the tuba is naturally a girls’ instrument.
“Studies have shown that women who went to girls’ schools are more likely to study stereotypically male subjects, like maths, physics and chemistry, both at school and at university. At The Royal High School Bath, science is studied from Junior School upwards, all the sciences are popular GCSE and A level choices and this year there has also been greater interest in studying physics as part of the International Baccalaureate. Figures from across GDST schools show that girls are over twice more likely to study A Level physics or chemistry than girls nationally, and overall nearly half the students in GDST Sixth Forms take at least one science A Level. This carries forward into University choices, where again over 40% of GDST students do science, medicine or maths as part of their degrees.”
Notes:
Nearly half (49%) of all co-ed maintained schools in England do not send even one girl on to do physics A Level, according to a report from the Institute of Physics (IOP) (http://www.iop.org/news/12/oct/page_58519.html).
Take up of science and maths at A Level in GDST schools:
• 12.2% of student in GDST Sixth Forms studied A Level physics in 2012
• 47.6% of students took at least one science A Level
• 36.9% took maths at A Level
The Royal High School Bath is part of the GDST (Girls’ Day School Trust).The GDST is the leading group of independent girls’ schools in the UK, with nearly 4,000 staff, and 20,000 students between the ages of three and 18. As a charity that owns and runs a network of 24 schools and two academies in England and Wales, it reinvests all its income in its schools. Founded in 1872, the GDST has a long history of pioneering innovation in the education of girls. For more information on the GDST visit www.gdst.net.
All GDST schools are members of the Girls’ Schools Association, which represents the UK’s independent girls’ schools.
Science – it’s a girl thing
What do Wendy Savage, Martha Whitely, Aimee di Marco and Polly Tandy have in common?
Obviously, they’re all women.
Moreover, they’re all women who have worked, or are still engaged in, different branches or medicine, science or engineering.
Martha Whitely was the co-inventor of tear gas used in the trenches in World War 1.
Dr Wendy Savage is a gynaecologist and an advocate for women’s rights in childbirth.
Aimee di Marco is also a doctor, a pioneering surgeon working on the leading edge of robotic surgery.
And Polly Tandy is a young drilling engineer in a notoriously male-dominated industry. She used to spend her days on offshore oil rigs, and now works with a team designing and drilling wells in incredibly harsh conditions of the Shetland Islands.
The other factor that unites Wendy, Martha, Aimee and Polly is that they all went to girls’ schools – more specifically schools belonging to the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST).
Why is this noteworthy? It’s significant because it demonstrates so vividly the level of encouragement that girls in single-sex schools are given to study subjects which are too often seen as ‘boys’ subjects’.
Studies have shown that women who went to girls’ schools are more likely to study stereotypically male subjects, like maths, physics and chemistry, both at school and at university. This often means they will have careers in more male-dominated industries, and earn more over their lifetime, than women of similar abilities and backgrounds who went to co-ed schools.
Figures from GDST schools show that girls are over twice more likely to study A Level physics or chemistry than girls nationally, and overall nearly half the students in GDST Sixth Forms take at least one science A Level. This carries forward into University choices, where again over 40% of students do science, medicine or maths as part of their degrees.
Does this matter? Well, yes. There is the matter of the waste of talent and of individual opportunities – who knows how many women who might, with the right encouragement and support, have become excellent scientists, are instead languishing in careers for which they aren’t best suited, which aren’t fulfilling and which mean they’re not reaching their full potential? And then there is also the issue that the nation as a whole is crying out for high quality scientists, mathematicians and engineers – individuals with STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) skills.
Employers’ organisations like the CBI regularly report concerns from their members that not enough school-leavers have essential maths and science skills that industries will need in the rest of the 21st century. They already report that they have difficulty recruiting staff with STEM skills and more expect to encounter problems in the coming years. There simply aren’t enough young people continuing to study these subjects post-16, to A Level and beyond.
Yet, if girls nationally sat as many physics, chemistry or maths A Levels as girls at GDST schools, for example, there would be nearly 9,000 more school-leavers with A Level physics, 20,000 with A Level chemistry and 21,000 with A Level maths in the population every year. Those are figures that could make a real difference.
So how are girls’ schools better able to support girls who want to study these subjects than their co-ed peers?
Firstly, as in all subjects in single-sex schools, the teaching is tailored to the interests of the pupils and what appeals more to them – for example, lasers might be studied in the context of their use in surgery rather than in heavy industry.
Secondly, in a girls’ school girls don’t have to compete for equipment or for staff attention with boys, who can often be more assertive and take up more teaching time as a result. Girls will always be the ones doing the experiments themselves, not just recording the results of boys’ experimentation.
Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, there is less stereotyping in a girls’ schools. Curriculum choices are made in a context in which girls are given every opportunity, without prejudice, to explore and fulfil their potential. When there are only other girls in the classroom, then every subject from art and drama to physics and further maths is naturally a girls’ subject, just as when there are only girls in the orchestra, every instrument from the piccolo to the tuba is naturally a girls’ instrument.
Teenage girls (and boys for that matter) are often desperate to fit in with their peer group, and can be concerned at the prospect of doing anything that might make them stand out from the crowd (which makes a girl studying a subject which some might view as ‘unfeminine’ much more of a social risk). The key times for this sort of self-consciousness are the years from age 13 to 16, just when pupils are choosing which subjects they want to take for their GCSEs and A Levels.
So when you’re considering which school is right for your daughter, do bear in mind the track record of girls’ schools in supporting girls and young women to make the right choices for themselves, their aptitudes and abilities, and in giving them the confidence not to be put off by stereotyping or by peer group pressure.
Your daughter may be a budding scientist or a potential artist, a lawyer in the making or a future entrepreneur: she deserves the chance to find out for herself what she’s good at and what suits her, and not feel she has to conform to anyone else’s expectations.