IOP ‘alarmed’ at claims girls shun physics because of ‘hard maths’

Institute labels government social mobility tsar’s claims as “outdated”

The Institute of Physics has said it is “alarmed” about comments made by the government’s social mobility commissioner, who has suggested that girls are not studying physics at A-level because they “don’t like” difficult maths.

Speaking to the science and technology committee on 27 April, Katherine Birbalsingh—a headteacher who was appointed chair of the social mobility commission in October—said fewer girls chose to study physics beyond GCSE because “physics isn’t something that girls tend to fancy. They don’t want to do it, they don’t like it”.