to think it would be good for boys to see more of their exam successes celebrated in the press?

[JenniferYellowHat1980]

I'm sure this has been done before, but I'm looking at this week's edition of our local paper and wondering why, of 60 pictures of young people doing and jumping for joy at their A level results, only 12 of them are boys. Yes there is a gender gap in attainment in schools, but it isn't anything like that wide, and I would have thought that it would do younger boys good to see the older ones' exam successes celebrated.

Naturally, there is a photo of highly photogenic twin girls to kick things off. Their results, while really good (I know them actually) aren't amazing. I'm sure there are more notable successes - you know, A*s and the like, which are trumped by those of attractive twins.

WIBU to write to the local paper to suggest that next week's GCSE coverage is less biased? and would anyone else care to do the same for their local rag?

Yep it's bad for both genders really -- papers blatantly using results day to cram in as many pics of teenage girls as possible (thus somewhat undermining the sentiment that it is their academic achievement being celebrated), while ignoring boys (thus fuelling sentiment that academic success is not for lads).

Yup, the press do this every year.

'attractive white girls pass exams'.

Well, ours has tried (3 boys, 4 girls in traditional 'leaping for joy' pose) but DS tells me they took the photo before the results were out, presumably in case they didn't collar attractive enough smily kids afterwards.

If yo asked my ds to pose like that he'd roll his eyes, hunch his back and concentrate on looking as cross as possible. Or stick his tongue out.
I suspect girls are happier to both have their photo taken and to look emotional while having photo taken

I was chatting in my office with a couple of girls of Somali heritage (who had just got fantastic A level results,) we looked down to the school foyer and low and behold several white girls getting their pic taken by the local rag. Our school is about 30% bme and co- ed!

Yup, I think you're absolutely right - I think it'd do boys a lot of good in two ways. It'd encourage them to think of academic achievement as a good idea, and also to see their female peers' intelligence something equivalent to their own abilities, rather than something to put on the front of papers for men to leer at.