Girls do better in exams at all-girls schools than mixed, research finds

FFT said the difference for girls’ schools was equivalent to a tenth of a grade improvement in each subject at GCSE. Photograph: Bubbles Photolibrary/Alamy

Girls who attend all-girls schools get better exam results than girls with similar records and backgrounds at mixed schools – and outdo boys at all-boys schools – according to research.

While girls’ schools have long been known to outperform other types of school in England, the analysis by FFT Datalab found that even after adjusting for background characteristics there was an unexplained boost for pupils at girls’ schools, equivalent to 10% higher GCSE grades in 2023.