Boys in Salford who are ‘too cool for school’ have the worst record in Greater Manchester for GCSE results.

Just over four in ten - 41 per cent - of boys in the borough managed to achieve five A* to C grades, including English and maths in the last academic year.

Yet for teenage girls in the city, the figure rose to more than half - 52 per cent. It meant Salford saw one of the largest gender divides anywhere in England, but results still languished below the national average.

School governors have bemoaned the divide and blame poor results for boys on a deep-seated attitude that ‘learning is not cool’.

Coun John Warmisham, a governor at Buile Hill High Visual Arts College, said: “In Salford schools there is the issue of laddishness. Many boys think it’s not cool to be seen to be learning.

“It is a historic thing, but is still prevalent today. We have got to find ways of making education sexier for boys.

“But teachers and governors feel frustrated because they feel due to the rigidness of curriculums created by governments they are not able to create imaginative curriculums. School are always looking over their shoulders waiting for Ofsted to appear and are under pressure to just get results.

“Government funding for Local Education Authorities has been cut mean there are fewer school improvement officers.

“Also many pupils from deprived areas in Salford are having to deal with tough issues at home which can impact on their school performance.”

Nationally, two thirds of boys got at least five A* to C GCSEs in any subjects last academic year, compared with three in four girls.

The gap has widened from 7.2 percentage points in 2008/09 to 9.1 in 2013/14.

Other areas with the widest gaps between girls’ and boys’ achievement were Southampton, Rutland and Warrington.

In Greater Manchester the biggest difference between boys and girls was in Bolton.

The figures for the rest of the county for GCSE results were: Bolton, boys 49.9 per cent; girls 64.1 per cent; difference 14.2. Bury // 53.4 // 59 // 5.6. Manchester // 46.6 // 54.8 // 8.2. Oldham // 46.4 // 57.9 // 11.5. Rochdale // 49.5 // 57 // 7.5. Stockport // 50.5 // 64.6 // 14.1 Tameside // 48.4 // 57.9 // 9.5 Trafford // 66.9 // 76.3 // 9.4 Wigan // 52 // 63.3 // 11.3 England // 47.3 // 58.2 // 10.9.