Boys outperform girls in school science in the UK more than any other developed country, a study shows.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) analysed results from 57 countries in its 2006 Pisa (Programme for International Assessment) study of 15-year-olds, where 20m students took a science test.

There were no overall significant difference between boys and girls, but some marked differences in various science competencies and knowledge. Girls were better at questions in which they had to "identify scientific issues" but boys were better at "explaining phenomena scientifically".

The statisticians rated teenagers from the different countries against a mean score of 500 points. On average, the difference between boys and girls in the 57 countries was two points. But in the UK, the difference was 10 points, with boys scoring 520, and girls scoring 510.

Ten points is equivalent to a quarter of a year of schooling.

In Turkey, girls outperform boys in science by 12 points. Turkish girls typically achieved 430 points, 70 below the OECD average, while Turkish boys achieved 418.

In Finland, the difference was particularly marked, with girls ahead of boys by 26 points.

The report used Pisa data, the internationally standardised test of maths, reading, science and problem-solving ability.

The study considered research about gender differences more widely and found the structure of education systems and educational policies may play a role, along with "pressures operating outside the school".