What today’s A-level results reveal about boys

In her first speech as Chancellor, Rachel Reeves made much of being the first woman to hold that position. ‘To every young woman and girl,’ she said, ‘let today show that there should be no ceilings on your ambitions.’ Britain has already had three female prime ministers, two female foreign secretaries and six female home secretaries – so what makes Reeves think that girls and young women have low ambitions? This week’s A-level results and accompanying university offers will show that it’s the boys she should be more worried about.

For every 100 girls who secure a university place this week, about 75 boys will do the same. Why should that be? Look at the most prestigious courses and the gender gap deepens. On law and medical courses, for every 100 girls who are enrolled, just 57 boys are.