ABSTRACT
During the years since the introduction of the GCSE there has been an increasing concern amongst politicians, policy makers and parents which has focused upon the differences in achievement between boys and girls. During the 1970s and 1980s the concerns about achievement were directed towards girls. These concerns regarding the education and achievement of girls arose out of the growing body of feminist research and literature which critiqued the state and highlighted the disadvantageous position of women both in employment and in education.
