Science hit hardest by Covid in Schools

Over a quarter of girls feel most behind in Science – Nearly half of all students say they will refuse to attend summer catch up camps

In the largest back-to-school survey of students carried out to date, leading EdTech firm, GCSEPod has taken the temperature on how teens feel about how Covid-19 has affected their studies, and which subjects have suffered the most.

Topping the table, a fifth (20.4%) of all respondents say they feel most behind in Science, followed by Maths at 17.7%. In contrast, more than a quarter (26%) of students say they feel their English studies have been the least affected by the pandemic.

The survey showed that girls were more worried about their progress in Science; 27.5% of girls stated they were most worried about it compared to 14.9% of boys. Approximately 22% of girls were most worried about Maths, in comparison to 14% of boys. The largest divergence was seen in Drama, where 26% of boys felt behind whereas only 2% of girls said the same.

Results from the survey show that there is little appetite for a summer school programme, with the vast majority (68.9%) of students polled stating that they were against plans for classes over the summer.

Approximately 47.3% of all respondents stated that they did not want to attend and did not plan to, while 21.6% said that they would go despite not wanting to. Just under a fifth of respondents said they were happy to attend while 13.7% said they had no strong opinions either way. Boys were the least likely to want to attend, with more than half saying they did not want to attend a summer school and did not plan to, in comparison to a third of girls.

The survey also found that students from the south of the country were more opposed to attending summer school than their northern peers. Those from the south were also more likely to be anxious over the idea of ‘catch-up.’

Helen Newies, Director of Operations at GCSEPod said:

“It’s been fascinating to see just how students feel about the impact of lockdown on different subjects, with science being the major casualty.  Teachers and students alike are putting in huge efforts to build back confidence in subject knowledge, but the survey also shows that there are considerable levels of anxiety even around the phrase ‘catch-up’.

“Simply giving more lesson content in a shorter window can have a negative impact – it is making many students anxious, and we risk them switching off. At GCSEPod, we provide innovative and informative resources to help students get back on track – our pods can be accessed at any time, giving students more control on how, when and where they reclaim their missed learning.”