NEARLY a third of pupils excluded from York schools last year were girls, education chiefs have revealed.

The number of girls on the behavioural support register has more than doubled.

To put this in context: most York pupils are well behaved, and of the troublemakers, boys are still well ahead of girls.

Nevertheless, councillors are right to be concerned by the trend. Why is girls' behaviour deteriorating?

Coun David Livesley puts it this way: "Perhaps they are not being as sweet - as sugar and spice - as they were before."

That, in itself, is no bad thing. After centuries of being taught to be passive and subordinate, girls are learning to be assertive and (whisper it) competitive.

The benefits to the wider community are obvious. We have more women leaders in business, politics and the arts. This area has a woman Chief Constable, a woman Lord Mayor and a woman theatre manager.

But as a new generation of girls learns to be more forceful, there is an inevitable reaction. A minority of girl pupils are also matching their worst-behaved male classmates.

Sadly, they are part of a cultural shift which has seen anti-social behaviour impinge on almost every English doorstep. This is linked to the rise in fragmented homes, the glorification of binge-drinking and a decline in parental discipline and respect for authority.

The media, and the pseudo-celebrities we spawn, undoubtedly have an influence. But for every questionable female role model, there is a more positive alternative. For every Jodie Marsh you can find a Beyonc.

So the blame game is pointless. We are all responsible and we all have a duty to help schools and the council provide guidance to our young citizens.

Updated: 11:41 Wednesday, June 16, 2004