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As educators of girls it is important that GSA is a credible authoritative voice on the benefits of girls’ education, underpinned by evidence-based insights.

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GSA Research

The Academic Attainment and Representation of Girls in STEM (March 2026)

GSA Research

Girls’ Schools and Positive Post-16 Destinations (December 2025)

GSA Research

The Academic Attainment and Representation of Girls in STEM & Economics (June 2025)

GSA Research

Sport Participation in Girls’ Schools (November 2024)

GSA Research

Investigating the Role of Girls-Only Schools in Preparing Students for Their Future Endeavours (November 2024)

GSA Research

Girls’ Academic Attainment (February 2024)

GSA Research

Investigating Pupils’ Perception of Equality for Women and Girls at Single-Sex Schools (November 2023)

GSA Research

Understanding the Experience of Girls from Disadvantaged Backgrounds and Girls with SEND in Single-Sex Schools (January 2023)

GSA Research

Girls’ schools buck the trend in terms of girls’ participation in male dominated sports (November 2022)

GSA Research

Soft Skills Development and Gender – An analysis of mental toughness at UK schools (June 2021)

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GSA Research

The Academic Attainment and Representation of Girls in STEM (March 2026)

The Girls’ Schools Association (GSA) has published new research examining girls’ academic attainment and participation in STEM subjects.

Drawing on the latest Department for Education data, the report highlights both the consistently strong academic performance of girls in girls’ schools and their significantly higher uptake of STEM subjects compared to peers in co-educational settings.

Key Findings

  • Girls in girls’ schools are significantly more likely to study STEM subjects at A-level, being nearly three times more likely to take Further Mathematics and more than twice as likely to take Physics and Computer Science.
  • Uptake across other STEM subjects at A-Level is also higher, with Biology 38% higher, Chemistry up to 78% higher, and Maths 86% higher than in co-educational schools.
  • Computer Science has seen the greatest growth in recent years, with participation in girls’ schools rising significantly, although overall numbers remain relatively low.
  • Academically, girls in girls’ schools continue to outperform their peers at GCSE, with higher Attainment 8 scores across all subjects, including English and Maths.
  • This trend continues at A-level, where students in single-sex schools achieve higher average point scores than those in co-educational settings across both all schools and independent schools.

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GSA Research

Girls’ Schools and Positive Post-16 Destinations (December 2025)

The Girls’ Schools Association (GSA) has published new research exploring girls’ post-16 and post-18 destinations, highlighting strong outcomes for girls overall and particularly for those in girls’ schools.

Drawing on Department for Education destination data, the report examines sustained education, higher education progression and long-term outcomes, showing that girls consistently outperform boys, with girls’ schools delivering especially strong results.

Key Findings

  • Nationally, girls are more likely than boys to progress into higher education and sustain positive destinations, with 52.7% entering HE compared to 46.2% of boys, and lower rates of NEET.
  • Girls in girls’ state schools outperform girls in co-educational schools, being around 9 percentage points more likely to progress to higher education (65.3% vs 56.0%) and more likely to continue in education overall.
  • They are also less likely to be NEET, with lower non-sustained destination rates than their peers in mixed schools, indicating stronger engagement and continuity in education.
  • Post-18, girls are more likely to progress to Level 4+ study and achieve degree-level qualifications, with an 8.5 percentage point advantage over boys.
  • These patterns persist over time, with girls remaining more likely to enter higher education and sustain positive destinations even five years after leaving school, underlining the long-term impact of girls’ education.

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GSA Research

The Academic Attainment and Representation of Girls in STEM & Economics (June 2025)

The Girls’ Schools Association (GSA) has published new research exploring girls’ academic attainment and representation in STEM and economics.

Drawing on Department for Education data, UCAS applications and a dedicated alumnae survey, the report highlights how girls in girls’ schools are significantly more likely to pursue STEM subjects and careers, alongside consistently strong academic outcomes compared to their peers in co-educational settings.

Key Findings

  • Girls in girls’ schools are significantly more likely to choose STEM subjects at A-level, being nearly three times more likely to take Further Mathematics, and more than twice as likely to take Physics or Economics.
  • This trend continues into higher education, where girls from girls’ schools are more than four times more likely to apply for mathematics degrees, three times more likely to apply for economics, and more likely to apply across all STEM disciplines, including engineering.
  • Overall, 25.8% of girls in the GSA UCAS sample applied to STEM subjects, compared to 12.2% nationally, meaning they are more than twice as likely to pursue these fields.
  • These patterns translate into careers, with 50% of girls’ school alumnae having worked in a STEM-related field at some point, compared to just 8% of women nationally.
  • Academically, girls in girls’ schools continue to outperform their peers at both GCSE and A-level, with higher Attainment 8 scores across all subjects.

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GSA Research

Sport Participation in Girls’ Schools (November 2024)

The Girls’ Schools Association (GSA) has unveiled new research into sport participation in Girls’ Schools.

The report offers valuable insights into the uptake of sports throughout girls’ schools lives, and offers comparisons with co-educational schools, as well as looking at key barriers to sport participation for girls. benefits and areas for future development in single-sex education for girls.

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Key Findings

  • Sport participation in the UK lags well behind other countries and is particularly poor for girls, rooted in stereotypes from as young as 6 months.
  • There is a significant decline around puberty age and girls report many barriers to entry – including menstruation and sporting injuries such as ACL tears. Females are significantly more likely to experience an ACL tear and recovery lags behind that of males.
  • Girls in girls’ schools have higher levels of sport participation on average. Girls in girls’ schools participate in 25% more curriculum PE than the national data.
  • Girls in girls’ schools follow a similar trend nationally by age but not to the same extent. Between KS4 and KS5 there is 65% drop off in the time spent playing sport nationally. For girls’ schools this drop off is 25%.
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GSA Research

Investigating the Role of Girls-Only Schools in Preparing Students for Their Future Endeavours (November 2024)

The Girls’ Schools Association (GSA) has unveiled a comprehensive report examining the impact of girls-only schools on young women’s personal and professional development. ​

The report, created in partnership with ImpactEd, titled: “Investigating the Role of Girls-Only Schools in Preparing Students for Their Future Endeavours,” offers valuable insights into the benefits and areas for future development in single-sex education for girls. This collaborative study into all girls’ schools is the most comprehensive survey into women and girls’ experiences of girls’ education to-date, and spans several generations of girls’ schools’ pupils and graduates to provide important data through the intergenerational perspective.

As the Girls’ Schools Association (GSA) celebrates its 150th year, it surveyed all those involved with girls’ schools: pupils, teachers, alumnae, and parents through tailored surveys to share their experiences of girls’ schools to more deeply understand their views and to shine a light on the benefits that same-sex education offers to young women.

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Research Methodology: The study involved surveys from 560 teachers, 1128 parents, 1425 alumnae, 4679 secondary school pupils, and 868 primary school pupils from 165 girls-only schools in the UK and Australia. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis of open-ended responses.

Key Findings Include:

  1. Girls’ schools designed for girls, which teachers place great value on
    80% of teachers agree that teaching methods in girls-only schools are tailored to girls’ needs and preferences. ​
    Female role models are prominently highlighted, with 91% of teachers and 82% of parents affirming this focus. ​
    These were the top two things teachers value most  about working in a girls’ school, with 97% of teachers surveyed having experience of both girls’ and co-ed schools / boys’ schools.
  2. Academic Excellence and Comfort:
    68% of parents choose girls-only schools for their daughters due to their reputation for good academic performance.
    61% of parents further believe their daughters are more comfortable in a same-sex school compared to co-educational settings. ​
  3. Career Support and Future Success:84% of parents feel their children are empowered to access information about all subjects equally, aiding informed future choices. ​
    Girls’ schools’ alumnae: from volunteers to university students, to those in full time employment, believe their girls’ school experience positively influenced their life path.
    Girls at girls’ schools are financially aware, financial stability was the top ambition of the girls surveyed.
  4. Areas for Improvement:
    While extra-curricular activities and career talks are common, more work experiences and alumnae role models would be welcomed.​
    Teachers believe the impact of social media is particularly pronounced with girls and called for more psychoeducational training to support young women.
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GSA Research

Girls’ Academic Attainment (February 2024)

GSA’s report, which analyses the most recent data available from the Department of Education (DfE), continues to show that girls in girls’ schools consistently outperform their peers academically.

Comparing 2022-2023 with 2021-2022 data reveals girls in girls’ schools maintain a first position academically, and hearteningly act as agents of positive change for every girl, with girls in all types of schools showing an uplift across the board for maths and sciences.

Proven repeatedly, it is clear that a girls-only education empowers young women to unleash their full potential and ambition to be the stateswomen of their own lives. Girls’ schools create nourishing learning environments made for girls, and the girls’ impressive achievements and high-level of engagement are arresting.

Data analysis highlights a number of important trends relating to girls’ subject choices and academic outcomes, including:

  • Girls in girls’ schools are significantly more likely to choose STEM subjects at A-level, being 2.7 times more likely to take Further Maths and more than twice as likely to take Physics and Computer Science compared to girls in co-educational schools.
  • Uptake across core STEM subjects is consistently higher, with entries in girls’ schools 87% higher for Maths, 85% higher for Chemistry and 43% higher for Biology.
  • Computer Science continues to see growth in participation among girls, with increases in both girls’ and co-ed schools, although overall uptake remains relatively low.
  • At Key Stage 5, students in single-sex schools continue to outperform those in co-educational settings, with girls in girls’ schools achieving higher average A-level scores across all school types.
  • At GCSE level, girls in girls’ schools also achieve higher Attainment 8 scores overall, as well as in English and Maths specifically, compared to girls in co-educational schools.

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GSA Research

Investigating Pupils’ Perception of Equality for Women and Girls at Single-Sex Schools (November 2023)

The Girls’ Schools Association established the UK’s biggest cross-sector research partnership in single-sex girls’ schools in 2023, representing a unified collaboration between the independent and state sectors.

In this report, developed in partnership with ImpactEd, GSA surveyed over 9,000 girls and over 500 teachers to investigate their experiences and perspectives in a wide-ranging study that examined power and status in politics, in business, and in the home, and their experience in schools through the female lens.

Key findings include:

  • 80% of all pupils surveyed said they had been taught about equality for women and girls at school.
  • 82% of pupils responded to say they did have adults they could talk to about these issues.
  • Pupils in year 5 felt their school had covered the topic of equality for women and girls better than other year groups. 68.6% of year 5 pupils thought their school covered the topic “well” or very well”, demonstrating how understanding is seeded at a young age through age appropriate teaching
  • Pupils’ perception of equality for women and girls decreases by age: between year 5 and year 13, there was a reduction of 19.8% in perceptions towards equality.
  • 74% of teachers agreed or strongly agreed that they did have the tools, resources and support they need to be able to teach pupils about equality for women and girls.
  • 76.2% also agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, “I actively challenge gendered language for women and girls and behaviour among pupils”.
  • 39.6% of pupils agreed or strongly agreed that their gender influences what people think about them.
  • This compares to 16.3% of pupils who agreed or strongly agreed that their gender impacts the activities that pupils are offered at school.
  • Pupils felt, on average, that activities outside of school (2.65 out of 5) were 12.5% more affected by their gender, than those inside of school (2.15 out of 5).

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About ImpactEd Evaluation

ImpactEd Evaluation is a social enterprise that exists to improve pupil outcomes by addressing the evaluation deficit in education. They help schools and education organisations to measure their impact so they can focus on what is working best to improve outcomes for young people.

Owen Carter, Co-Founder and Director at ImpactEd Group, comments:

“We have been delighted to again work with the Girls’ Schools Association, reaching over 9000 pupils and 500 teachers to deliver this research. The report sheds light on GSA pupils’ perception of equality for women and girls and how age and other demographics may affect this perception. Teachers’ perspectives give context to how this issue is already being engaged with at school, as well as suggesting areas in which teachers feel they would benefit from further support. We hope that this information will support schools in considering how best to support teachers and their pupils on this topic in the future.”

Fionnuala Kennedy, Head at Wimbledon High School GDST, adds:

“Those of us privileged to work in girls’ schools know how conversations about equality amongst our students are more often than not outward facing – our girls and young women care deeply not just about what happens to their friends and peers, but about the inequalities that women and girls encounter across the board. In any GSA member school, lively debates about intersectionality, or about the challenges women face in other countries no doubt abound. This focus for the GSA Research Partnership is therefore most welcome as we collectively look to effect change for the future.”

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GSA Research

Understanding the Experience of Girls from Disadvantaged Backgrounds and Girls with SEND in Single-Sex Schools (January 2023)

The Girls’ Schools Association established the UK’s biggest cross-sector research partnership in single-sex girls’ schools in 2022, representing a unified collaboration between the independent and state sectors.

In this first report, developed in partnership with ImpactEd, GSA provides a welcome focus to the experience and outcomes of disadvantaged students and students with Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) from single-sex girls’ schools.

Over the past few years, and particularly in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, several research projects revealed that teenage girls can often have worse non-cognitive outcomes than their male peers. In light of these findings, GSA sought to understand outcomes for girls and investigate how different educational environments can impact upon their experiences.

Key Findings include:

  • Girls at single-sex schools, on average, had higher wellbeing, self-efficacy, motivation and metacognition than their peers at co-educational schools.
  • Girls from disadvantaged backgrounds have higher levels of wellbeing and metacognition than their more advantaged peers at co-ed schools
  • Girls with SEND have higher metacognition than girls without SEND at co-ed schools
    It is also fascinating to see how girls in girls’ schools appear particularly attuned to societal inequalities when it comes to gender.

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About ImpactEd

ImpactEd is a social enterprise that exists to improve pupil outcomes by addressing the evaluation deficit in education. They help schools and education organisations to measure their impact so they can focus on what is working best to improve outcomes for young people.
All schools participating in this project received individual access to ImpactEd’s digital platform to monitor the wellbeing and engagement of their pupils. To find out more about partnering with ImpactEd, visit www.impacted.org.uk.

Owen Carter, Managing Director of ImpactEd, commented:

“We have been delighted to work with the Girls’ Schools Association to deliver this innovative piece of cross-sector research reaching over four thousand young people. The report sheds light on the complexities of the factors affecting girls’ wellbeing, motivation and self-efficacy – with some encouraging suggestions for how disadvantaged young people can be supported in a single-sex environment. We hope this will support schools of all types in considering how they can most effectively support young people.”

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GSA Research

Girls’ schools buck the trend in terms of girls’ participation in male dominated sports (November 2022)

The Girls’ Schools Association (GSA) has published new research exploring girls’ participation in traditionally male dominated sports.

The report draws on national data alongside findings from GSA schools to examine both access to, and uptake of, sports such as football, cricket and rugby. It highlights the persistent barriers girls face nationally, while demonstrating how girls’ schools are helping to address these challenges through greater provision and participation opportunities.

Key Findings

  • Girls continue to face significant barriers to sport participation, including lack of confidence, peer pressure and menstruation, with 37% reporting that their periods prevent them from being active.
  • By adolescence, while 78% of girls recognise the importance of being active, only 28% say they enjoy sport, contributing to high dropout rates during teenage years.
  • Nationally, participation in traditionally male dominated sports remains low, with just 33% of girls playing football compared to 63% of boys, and girls playing roughly half as much rugby and cricket as boys.
  • GSA schools offer significantly greater access to these sports, with the majority providing opportunities in cricket and football, and many offering competitive fixtures against other schools.
  • Girls in GSA schools are far more likely to participate: they are nearly five times more likely to play cricket and 30% more likely to play football than girls nationally, demonstrating that girls’ schools are successfully bucking the trend.

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GSA Research

Soft Skills Development and Gender – An analysis of mental toughness at UK schools (June 2021)

New research – released at the GSA’s annual Summer Briefing for headteachers on June 14 – indicates that girls who attend single-sex girls’ schools are generally more confident and more emotionally in control than girls in coeducational schools.

The ‘mental toughness’ research also indicates that the pandemic may have exacerbated any gaps and differences that already existed, with girls who are more mentally tough potentially having an advantage in dealing with the pandemic compared with less mentally tough girls.

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Mental Toughness is a well-evidenced concept and personality trait which describes how we respond mentally to stress, pressure, opportunity and challenge. It can be developed, and research shows that it correlates with attainment, wellbeing, aspiration, and the ability to deal with change.

AQR’s meta-analysis also includes a study – by Dr. Dara Mojtahedi of Huddersfield University – which has explored the relationship between Mental Toughness and self-reported levels of depression, anxiety & stress during the Covid pandemic. This study indicates that, the more mentally tough a person is, the better able they are to deal with being anxious, stressed or depressed.

AQR chief executive, Doug Strycharczyk, concludes:
“This has significant implications for much of the population, during and after the pandemic. It shows the importance of being aware of an individual’s and an organisation’s mental toughness. Differences in Mental Toughness may well have widened during the pandemic. Any government ‘catch-up’ scheme would do well to take this into account.”

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