Research Research Library

Research Library

Girls’ education is backed by evidence. The GSA Research Library brings together the latest reports, insights, and data on single-sex girls’ education.

~90,000

girls are educated in girls’ schools across the UK and robust research ensures their voices are heard.

Digital & AI

Two-Thirds of Young People Report Seeing Harmful Gender Expectations Online (May 2026)

Teachers and Recruitment

TES Teacher Well-being Report 2026 (March 2026)

Attainment & Education Policy

Reading Enjoyment Has Increased for the First Time in Four Years (June 2026)

Careers

One in Three Graduates Are Not in Graduate-Level Employment (June 2026)

Attainment & Education Policy

White British Girls from Disadvantaged Backgrounds Face the Largest Attainment and Earnings Gaps (June 2026)

Digital & AI

More than 85% of Under-16s Continued Using Restricted Social Media After Australia’s Ban (June 2026)

Careers

Men Gain Career Benefits from Taking Extended Parental Leave, While Women Do Not (June 2026)

Girls Focused

Girls Are More Likely Than Boys to Be Referred for Mental Health Support, with Anxiety the Leading Cause (June 2026)

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

Teenage Girls Play 84 Fewer Minutes of Sport Each Week Than Boys (June 2026)

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Digital & AI

Two-Thirds of Young People Report Seeing Harmful Gender Expectations Online (May 2026)

Drawing on polling of 4,000 young people aged 13–20 across the UK, the briefing highlights the growing impact of online misogyny on children and young people’s attitudes, relationships and wellbeing. The report finds that girls are disproportionately exposed to harassment, sexualised abuse and victim-blaming narratives online, while boys face increasing pressure to conform to harmful and restrictive ideas of masculinity.

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Teachers and Recruitment

TES Teacher Well-being Report 2026 (March 2026)

Drawing on responses from more than 2,800 educators across 196 countries, this global wellbeing report finds a profession sustained by commitment but increasingly strained by excessive workload, behaviour challenges and growing inclusion demands. The report highlights significant risks to teacher retention, with half of respondents not planning to remain in teaching long term, citing workload, stress and a lack of recognition as key drivers of attrition.

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Attainment & Education Policy

Reading Enjoyment Has Increased for the First Time in Four Years (June 2026)

Based on responses from more than 125,000 children and young people aged 5–18 across the UK, the National Literacy Trust found a small but encouraging rise in reading enjoyment and daily reading after several years of decline. Despite this improvement, overall engagement remains well below previous levels, with girls continuing to enjoy reading more than boys and socioeconomic gaps widening, while the report highlights the important role reading plays in supporting learning, wellbeing, empathy and self-understanding.

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Careers

One in Three Graduates Are Not in Graduate-Level Employment (June 2026)

This Policy Exchange report argues that England’s higher education system is facing a structural crisis, driven by decades of expansion and marketisation. It contends that increasing university participation has not delivered the expected gains in productivity, social mobility or graduate outcomes, with many graduates carrying substantial debt while seeing limited financial returns. The authors call for a smaller, more selective higher education sector, stronger academic standards, greater investment in technical and vocational pathways, and a rebalancing of funding towards courses that meet national skills needs

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Attainment & Education Policy

White British Girls from Disadvantaged Backgrounds Face the Largest Attainment and Earnings Gaps (June 2026)

The Crossing Paths report from The Sutton Trust finds that disadvantaged White British girls are falling further behind than their male counterparts, with widening attainment gaps and the largest earnings penalties of any major ethnic group, highlighting how gender, ethnicity, socio-economic background and geography intersect to shape opportunity. Using national education and earnings data, the report examines how these factors influence GCSE attainment, social mobility and early career outcomes across England, arguing that more targeted, place-based policies are needed to address inequalities.

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Digital & AI

More than 85% of Under-16s Continued Using Restricted Social Media After Australia’s Ban (June 2026)

New research from Newcastle University finds that Australia’s world-first ban on under-16s holding social media accounts had little immediate impact, with more than 85% of under-16s continuing to use restricted platforms and many circumventing age checks. The study concludes that weak implementation and widespread workarounds limited the policy’s early effectiveness, highlighting the need for stronger age verification and longer-term evaluation of its impact on young people’s online behaviour and wellbeing.

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Careers

Men Gain Career Benefits from Taking Extended Parental Leave, While Women Do Not (June 2026)

New research from Statistics Canada suggests that while extended parental leave improves perceptions of men as effective, empathetic leaders, it does not provide the same career advantages for women. The studies found that men who took six months or more of leave were viewed as more communal and were rated higher for leadership potential, hireability and rewards, whereas women received no equivalent benefit for identical behaviour. The findings highlight how gender stereotypes continue to shape workplace perceptions and suggest that organisations must address bias alongside encouraging shared parental leave if such policies are to improve gender equality.

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Girls Focused

Girls Are More Likely Than Boys to Be Referred for Mental Health Support, with Anxiety the Leading Cause (June 2026)

The Children’s Commissioner’s Children’s and Young People’s Mental Health Services: 2024–25 report finds that girls account for a slightly higher proportion of referrals to specialist mental health services than boys, with anxiety remaining the most common reason for girls’ referrals. Set against record demand of more than one million referrals in a single year, the report highlights growing pressure on services, long waiting times, and the need for earlier intervention and stronger mental health support in schools.

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Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

Teenage Girls Play 84 Fewer Minutes of Sport Each Week Than Boys (June 2026)

New research by Public First finds that girls aged 11–18 participate in 84 fewer minutes of sport each week than boys, with the gap widening to 100 minutes in urban areas and being greatest for girls from ethnic minority backgrounds. The report concludes that unequal access to facilities, organised sport and safe opportunities to be active is driving the disparity, arguing that improving girls’ access to sport could generate more than £640 million a year in economic and health benefits.

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