Boys are trailing girls in key subjects after just two years at school, official figures have revealed.
Department for Education (DfE) statistics demonstrate that fewer seven-year-old boys in England reached the standard expected of them in reading, writing, maths and science than girls of the same age.
The gap was widest in writing, with one in four boys (24.5%) failing to achieve Level 2 - the standard expected of seven-year-olds - compared to around one in seven (13.4%) of girls.
In reading, 88.7% of girls achieved Level 2 compared to 80.9% of boys.
There was a 3.3% gap in favour of girls in science, with 90.4% achieving the required level compared to 87.1% of boys.
The gap was smallest in maths, with 90.8% of girls reaching Level 2 compared to 87.8% of boys.
Each of the gaps has closed marginally since last year, the DfE figures show.
The results come after Schools minister Nick Gibb recently said it was a "real concern" that poorer children are failing to meet the expected standard in reading and writing.
He said: ""Though there is a slight increase in the proportion of seven-year-olds reaching the expected level in reading, it is a real concern that almost a third of all Key Stage 1 children receiving free school meals are failing to achieve the standard in reading and writing. Additionally, over a third of boys receiving free school meals fail to make the grade in reading and writing.
"Getting the fundamentals right is crucial to a child's success in secondary education and throughout their adult life, and the Government is committed to getting all children reading and writing to a high standard."
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