Girls are more likely than boys to get anxious about maths as they move through secondary school. That is not a hunch from the staff room. It is one of the clearer findings from England’s biggest long term look at how children feel about the subject.
The Review of Mathematical Education for 2026, from the Observatory for Mathematical Education at the University of Nottingham, followed the same pupils as last year. By Year 8, 58 per cent of girls said they often worry that maths will be difficult for them. For boys the figure was 41 per cent. A year earlier, when those same girls were in Year 7, it was 48 per cent. The gap is growing as they get older, not shrinking.
I teach secondary maths in south London, so this one landed hard. Here’s the thing. The worry is not usually that girls cannot do the work. Plenty of them can. It is that many stop believing the subject is for them.
What the new research actually says
The Observatory’s surveys cover tens of thousands of pupils, parents and teachers across more than 300 schools and colleges in England. Schools Week reported the Year 8 anxiety gap on 23 October, and Netmums picked up the wider conversation this week with physics teacher Brook Edgar.
The pattern starts early and then widens. In Year 1, girls were only a little more likely than boys to say they would be worried if they could not answer maths questions quickly, 52 per cent against 48 per cent. By Year 8 the difference is much bigger. Among Year 13 students taking A level maths, 68 per cent of boys had a high or somewhat high confidence score, against 54 per cent of girls.
National Numeracy, the charity that works on number confidence, says maths anxiety is common and not a sign of low ability. One study they cite found most children with high maths anxiety still scored in the normal to high range on curriculum tests. Another figure they use is that 77 per cent of children with maths anxiety were normal to high achievers. So a child who freezes in a test or refuses to start homework may still be perfectly capable. The fear gets in the way.
Why girls in particular
Brook Edgar told Netmums that the education system can spend years sending the wrong signals about which subjects are “for” girls. Teacher shortages play a part too. At Key Stage 3, when pupils are 11 to 14, schools sometimes ask teachers from other subjects to cover science. That can make it harder for some girls to feel included and build confidence.
There is also the quieter stuff at home and at school. The government’s own work on women in technology careers notes that children pick up gendered ideas about STEM early, and that girls are less likely than boys to be encouraged by families and teachers into technical paths. National Numeracy points to cultural bias as one possible cause of maths anxiety, including the idea that ability is fixed by gender or background.
None of that means boys sail through. Plenty of boys hate maths too. The RoME numbers just show girls reporting more of the worry as secondary school goes on.
What dads can actually do
Parents and carers have a bigger influence on how children feel about maths than a lot of us realise. The Department for Education’s Education Hub, writing with National Numeracy, puts that bluntly. You do not need to be good at algebra yourself. You do need to watch what you say out loud.
First, drop the jokes about being rubbish at maths. “I was never any good at it” lands as permission to give up, even when you mean it as solidarity. National Numeracy and the Education Hub both say the same thing: talk positively, or at least neutrally. If you found it hard at school, say you found it hard and you still use numbers every day for money, cooking and work. Ability is not fixed.
Second, praise the working, not the “clever”. When a child shows how they got there, even if the answer is wrong, that is the bit worth noticing. “Show your working” is not just a teacher habit. It tells them effort and method matter more than looking smart.
Third, make maths ordinary. Cooking, shopping, football scores, bus times, pocket money, measuring a shelf. Pointing out numbers in real life helps kids see maths as useful rather than a trap waiting for them in a classroom. It also gives you something to talk about that is not “have you done your homework”.
Fourth, if your daughter likes science or maths but freezes in class, ask the school what is on offer. Brook Edgar told Netmums she has seen mixed schools run STEM sessions and trips for girls only, and that those can give some girls space to take part without the usual classroom noise. Online lessons at their own pace can help some anxious pupils too. That is not a magic fix, and it is not for every child, but it is worth asking about if confidence is the main problem rather than understanding.
Fifth, role models help. Brook named mathematician and broadcaster Hannah Fry as someone who makes maths feel possible. Museums, science centres, coding clubs, books and films with women doing technical jobs all chip away at the idea that STEM is a boys’ club. Dads who enjoy this stuff themselves can share it without turning it into a lecture. A Saturday at the Science Museum counts.
When the anxiety is bigger than homework
A bit of nerves before a test is normal. Panic, tears, stomach ache every maths morning, or a child who will not open the book at all, is different. National Numeracy says spotting maths anxiety in younger children can be hard because they may not have the words for it. They may just get distressed during homework.
If the worry is spilling into mood, sleep or school avoidance more widely, talk to the school and, if needed, your GP. The NHS page on anxiety in children is a sensible starting point, and YoungMinds has parent advice if you want to talk it through. Kids can contact Childline any time on 0800 1111.
The bit that sticks
Girls are not falling out of love with numbers because they suddenly get worse at them. The RoME figures suggest many of them are getting more anxious while the work is still within reach. Schools have a job to do on that. So do we at the kitchen table.
The message Brook Edgar keeps coming back to is simple enough for any dad to say out loud. Maths and science are for them too. Say it early, say it often, and then back it up with how you talk about your own number skills. That is a lesson for another day for the policymakers. For the rest of us, it starts this week.
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