A File on 4 and BBC investigation into GCSE results between 2019 and 2025 has found that in English and Maths pass rates among girls have fallen.
Overall pass rates dropped by 1.6 percentage points, with disadvantaged girls – those accessing free school meals in the past six years or in care – seeing a drop of 3.5 percentage points.  White British girls who are classed as disadvantaged saw an even bigger fall of 6.4 percentage points, with only 38% achieving the expected standard at GCSE. 

Studies have previously suggested that girls outperform boys from primary school through to university, but the BBC analysis has found the gender gap has narrowed at GCSE level with 35% of white low-income British boys reaching the expected GCSE standard in 2025 – an increase of 0.2 percentage points from 2019.

At Youth Concern we see first-hand the challenges that young girls face during their GCSE years and to help them, and all the young people that come to the Drop-in Centre, we offer ‘study support’. This includes everything from providing a space where they can study to providing laptops and free Wi-Fi so they can access revision materials or online learning portals provided by their school. We provide GCSE study guides and textbooks for English, Maths and Science from the major exam boards and our staff help the students create revision plan and provide materials to support their learning at our Drop-in Centre and at home.


Finally, a huge thank you to our wonderful supporter Simon Lacey who completed his 6th marathon last Sunday and raised a whooping £2,240 for Youth Concern! Simon’s enthusiasm is infectious and his determination is inspiring!

Every fortnight we try and share snippets from across Youth Concern’s services. If there’s anything in particular you’d like to hear more about, just let us know! Thank you for all your support and involvement. We couldn’t do any of this without you.





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