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 subsequent cancellation 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 remained more stable, although, as with A grades, at each SQA course level more girls than boys attain an A-C grade:

At National 5, in 2019 there was a difference of 4.2 percentage points between female (80.2 per cent) and male candidates (76.0 per cent); in 2021 there was a difference of 2.9 percentage points between female (87.2 per cent) and male candidates (84.3 per cent).

At Higher, in 2019 there was a difference of 4.6 percentage points between female (76.8 per cent) and male candidates (72.2 per cent); in 2021 there was also a difference of 4.6 percentage points between female (89.4 per cent) and male candidates (84.8 per cent).

At Advanced Higher, in 2019 there was a difference of 4.6 percentage points between female (81.4 per cent) and male candidates (76.8 per cent); in 2021 there was a difference of 4.6 percentage points between female (92.2 per cent) and male candidates (87.6 per cent).

SQA results 2021: the gender gap 

A grades at National 5

2017: 41.1 per cent for female candidates, 32.8 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 8.3 percentage points).

2018: 39.1 per cent for female candidates, 30.9 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 8.2 percentage points).

2019: 39.2 per cent for female candidates, 30.8 per cent for male candidates (difference of 8.4 percentage points).

2020: 46.4 per cent for female candidates, 38.2 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 8.2 percentage points).

2021: 51.5 per cent for female candidates, 41.8 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 9.7 percentage points).

A-C grades at National 5

2017: 81.4 per cent for female candidates, 77.4 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 4.0 percentage points).

2018: 80.1 per cent for female candidates, 74.5 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 5.6 percentage points).

2019: 80.2 per cent for female candidates, 76.0 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 4.2 percentage points).

2020: 90.4 per cent for female candidates, 87.6 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 2.8 percentage points).

2021: 87.2 per cent for female candidates, 84.3 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 2.9 percentage points).

A grades at Higher

2017: 31.8 per cent for female candidates, 24.9 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 6.9 percentage points).

2018: 31.1 per cent for female candidates, 25.1 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 6.0 percentage points).

2019: 30.3 per cent for female candidates, 25.6 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 4.7 percentage points).

2020: 43.3 per cent for female candidates, 35.9 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 7.4 percentage points).

2021: 52.1 per cent for female candidates, 42.2 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 9.9 percentage points).

A-C grades at Higher

2017: 79.6 per cent for female candidates, 73.8 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 5.8 percentage points).

2018: 79.5 per cent for female candidates, 73.4 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 6.1 percentage points).

2019: 76.8 per cent for female candidates, 72.2 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 4.6 percentage points).

2020: 90.9 per cent for female candidates, 87.2 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 3.7 percentage points).

2021: 89.4 per cent for female candidates, 84.8 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 4.6 percentage points).

A grades at Advanced Higher

2017: 32.5 per cent for female candidates, 30.8 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 1.7 percentage points).

2018: 33.3 per cent for female candidates, 31.1 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 2.2 percentage points).

2019: 32.0 per cent for female candidates, 31.5 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 0.5 percentage points).

2020: 47.6 per cent for female candidates, 44.8 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 2.8 percentage points).

2021: 53.2 per cent for female candidates, 48.1 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 5.1 percentage points).

A-C grades at Advanced Higher

2017: 82.4 per cent for female candidates, 77.1 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 5.3 percentage points).

2018: 83.5 per cent for female candidates, 76.7 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 6.8 percentage points).

2019: 81.4 per cent for female candidates, 76.8 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 4.6 percentage points).

2020: 94.4 per cent for female candidates, 91.4 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 3.0 percentage points).

2021: 92.2 per cent for female candidates, 87.6 per cent for male candidates (a difference of 4.6 percentage points).

*Catch up with all of Tes Scotland‘s 2021 SQA results coverage via our live blog.