Study finds women scientists nearly absent from UK school exam boards' materials
A Cambridge University analysis of specifications across the UK's six main exam boards found that of 86 scientists mentioned at Key Stage 4 (covering GCSE), only one was a woman—Rosalind Franklin. The researchers, publishing in the British Educational Research Journal, identified several major scientific breakthroughs taught in UK specifications that were made by women but are not explicitly included in compulsory learning material. The team recommends incorporating achievements of scientists including Marie Curie, Lise Meitner, and Dorothy Hodgkin into existing exam specifications, suggesting such additions could inspire more girls to pursue physics and mathematics at Key Stage 5 and beyond.
