Boys are nearly six times more likely to be expelled from secondary schools in Huddersfield and Kirklees than girls, exclusive analysis has revealed.

An investigation into the latest government figures by the Examiner shows a huge gender disparity when it comes to exclusions in Kirklees schools .

Across state-funded secondaries in Kirklees , 22 boys were permanently excluded in the 2016/17 school year — 0.17% of all pupils.

While a small percentage, that’s nearly six times higher than the exclusion rate for girls.

Four girls were permanently excluded from Kirklees secondary schools the same year — just 0.03% of all students.

The gender gap is also wide when it comes to primary schools. While no female primary school pupils were expelled in Kirklees last year, four boys were.

The gender gap in exclusions is worse in Kirklees than it is across the country as a whole.

Nationally, boys are more than three times more likely to be permanently excluded than girls, and more than twice as likely to be suspended for a fixed period.

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A House of Commons’ Education Committee report has said that school exclusions are often used unnecessarily and are leaving children without an adequate education.

Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said: “A one-size-fits-all curriculum and exam system, which does not give teachers the flexibility to use a range of learning styles, is partly responsible for the increase in the exclusion of boys.

“And our current system of testing pupils from the earliest years is stressful for many children – academically able pupils and those who
are not – turning many off education before they even reach secondary school.

“Excluding pupils is a last resort for schools, but many are finding it increasingly difficult to meet the needs of all their pupils and keep them in school.

“Schools are struggling to support pupils because of the double-whammy of real-terms funding cuts which have forced them to make teaching and specialist learning support assistants redundant, and the loss of external support because of the funding cuts to local authority behaviour support services.

“Being excluded from school can have a huge effect on a pupil’s life chances, with excluded children getting fewer GCSEs and lower grades and being more likely to drop out of education.”