The notion that universities can deliver an education costing £9,000 a year in a three-day week will fuel questions as to whether students are getting value for money.
Some 71.7 per cent of female entries in England, Wales and Northern Ireland got a 4/C or higher this year, compared with 64.9 per cent for boys - a lead of 6.8 points, which is the narrowest since 2000.
The proportion of boys who got an A this year was 9.1 per cent, 0.3 points higher than girls (8.8 per cent), according to JCQ data for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Graphic stories and comic books about youngsters flattening their breasts, hormone injections and girls trying to urinate standing up can be found in the Story Space .