Yet again this morning I was reminded of my Education Tutor at Scrapfield College of Education.She was called Kate Douet, and she made an enormous impression on us student teachers. She retired in 1969. I hope she enjoyed a long and happy retirement.

In one lecture, she was adamant that we must give boys and girls the same toys, we must talk to them in the same way, we must offer them the same opportunities. Thus the 'stereo-type male and female behaviours' would be eradicated.

I remember arguing with her fiercely. "Males and females are different right from the start. They are made differently. They respond to the same stimuli in different ways."

Of course generalisations in human beings are necessarily limiting. Each human is an individual. Unique.

But on woman's hour today, another 'expert' now affirming along with a tide of evidence, that I was right after all. Boys and girls respond differently to the same national curriculum. Jill Berry, president of the Girls School Association, was advocating single sex schools in order to promote the success of girls.

Having raised 3 sons during years when there was extra effort in the promotion of science, technology, and sport for girls, surely it's the boys who need to have their learning environments tweaked by government edict. Boys are lagging behind on almost all education fronts.

One step is to recruit more males into education, both at teaching and support level.

The next step could be to integrate a cognitive programme into the school day - the problem solving scenario is popular with most boys.

Maybe in another 30 years from now ....................