Girls have stretched further ahead of boys in terms of the relative proportion receiving A grades for Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) courses, data published this week shows.
The gender gap in A grades has widened at National 5 (to 9.7 percentage points in 2021), Higher (9.9 percentage points in 2021) and Advanced Higher (5.1 percentage points in 2021).
That contrasts with smaller gaps in 2019, the last year before the Covid pandemic and the subsequentÌýcancellation of national SQA exams in 2020 and 2021.
The 2019 gap in A grades at National 5 (8.4 percentage points) was similar to that in 2021, but there were more marked changes at Higher (where the A-grade gender gap was 4.7 percentage points in 2019) and at Advanced Higher (0.5 percentage points in 2019).
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However, the figures for A-C grades present a different picture: gaps between female and male candidates have remainedÌýmore stable, although, as with A grades,Ìýat each SQA course level more girls than boys attain an A-C grade:
At National 5, in 2019 there was a difference of 4.2Ìýpercentage points between female (80.2 per cent) and male candidates (76.0 per cent);Ìýin 2021Ìýthere was a difference of 2.9Ìýpercentage points between female (87.2 per cent) and male candidates (84.3Ìýper cent).
At Higher, in 2019 there was a difference of 4.6Ìýpercentage points between female (76.8 per cent) and male candidates (72.2Ìýper cent);Ìýin 2021Ìýthere was also a difference of 4.6Ìýpercentage points between female (89.4 per cent) and male candidates (84.8Ìýper cent).
At Advanced Higher, in 2019 there was a difference of 4.6Ìýpercentage points between female (81.4 per cent) and male candidates (76.8Ìýper cent);Ìýin 2021Ìýthere was a difference of 4.6Ìýpercentage points between female (92.2 per cent) and male candidates (87.6Ìýper cent).
SQA results 2021: the gender gapÌý
A grades at National 5
2017:Ìý41.1Ìýper cent for female candidates,Ìý32.8 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 8.3Ìýpercentage points).
2018:Ìý39.1Ìýper cent for female candidates,Ìý30.9Ìýper cent for male candidates (a difference of 8.2Ìýpercentage points).
2019:Ìý39.2Ìýper cent for female candidates,Ìý30.8Ìýper cent for male candidates (difference of 8.4Ìýpercentage points).
2020:Ìý46.4Ìýper cent for female candidates,Ìý38.2Ìýper cent for male candidates (a difference of 8.2Ìýpercentage points).
2021:Ìý51.5Ìýper cent for female candidates,Ìý41.8Ìýper cent for male candidates (a difference of 9.7Ìýpercentage points).
A-C grades at National 5
2017:Ìý81.4Ìýper cent for female candidates,Ìý77.4Ìýper cent for male candidates (a difference of 4.0Ìýpercentage points).
2018:Ìý80.1Ìýper cent for female candidates,Ìý74.5Ìýper cent for male candidates (a difference of 5.6Ìýpercentage points).
2019:Ìý80.2Ìýper cent for female candidates,Ìý76.0Ìýper cent for male candidates (a difference of 4.2Ìýpercentage points).
2020:Ìý90.4Ìýper cent for female candidates,Ìý87.6Ìýper cent for male candidates (a difference of 2.8Ìýpercentage points).
2021:Ìý87.2Ìýper cent for female candidates,Ìý84.3Ìýper cent for male candidates (a difference of 2.9Ìýpercentage points).
A grades at Higher
2017:Ìý31.8 per cent for female candidates,Ìý24.9 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 6.9Ìýpercentage points).
2018:Ìý31.1Ìýper cent for female candidates,Ìý25.1Ìýper cent for male candidates (a difference of 6.0Ìýpercentage points).
2019:Ìý30.3Ìýper cent for female candidates,Ìý25.6Ìýper cent for male candidates (a difference of 4.7Ìýpercentage points).
2020:Ìý43.3Ìýper cent for female candidates,Ìý35.9Ìýper cent for male candidates (a difference of 7.4Ìýpercentage points).
2021:Ìý52.1Ìýper cent for female candidates,Ìý42.2Ìýper cent for male candidates (a difference of 9.9Ìýpercentage points).
A-C grades atÌýHigher
2017:Ìý79.6Ìýper cent for female candidates,Ìý73.8Ìýper cent for male candidates (a difference of 5.8Ìýpercentage points).
2018:Ìý79.5 per cent for female candidates,Ìý73.4Ìýper cent for male candidates (a difference of 6.1Ìýpercentage points).
2019:Ìý76.8Ìýper cent for female candidates,Ìý72.2Ìýper cent for male candidates (a difference of 4.6Ìýpercentage points).
2020:Ìý90.9Ìýper cent for female candidates,Ìý87.2 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 3.7Ìýpercentage points).
2021:Ìý89.4Ìýper cent for female candidates,Ìý84.8Ìýper cent for male candidates (a difference of 4.6Ìýpercentage points).
A grades at AdvancedÌýHigher
2017:Ìý32.5Ìýper cent for female candidates,Ìý30.8Ìýper cent for male candidates (a difference of 1.7 percentage points).
2018:Ìý33.3 per cent for female candidates,Ìý31.1Ìýper cent for male candidates (a difference of 2.2Ìýpercentage points).
2019:Ìý32.0 per cent for female candidates,Ìý31.5Ìýper cent for male candidates (a difference of 0.5Ìýpercentage points).
2020:Ìý47.6 per cent for female candidates,Ìý44.8Ìýper cent for male candidates (a difference of 2.8Ìýpercentage points).
2021:Ìý53.2 per cent for female candidates,Ìý48.1 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 5.1Ìýpercentage points).
A-C grades at AdvancedÌýHigher
2017:Ìý82.4 per cent for female candidates,Ìý77.1 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 5.3Ìýpercentage points).
2018:Ìý83.5Ìýper cent for female candidates,Ìý76.7Ìýper cent for male candidates (a difference of 6.8Ìýpercentage points).
2019:Ìý81.4 per cent for female candidates,Ìý76.8Ìýper cent for male candidates (a difference of 4.6Ìýpercentage points).
2020:Ìý94.4Ìýper cent for female candidates,Ìý91.4 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 3.0 percentage points).
2021:Ìý92.2 per cent for female candidates,Ìý87.6 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 4.6Ìýpercentage points).
*Catch up with all ofÌýÌÇÐÄVlog Scotlandâ€ÈÙ 2021 SQA results coverage via our live blog.
