It suggests they may be better at navigating the exams system in Britain without translating the performance into a grasp of maths in “real life” situations – a cornerstone of the OECD assessments.

According to figures, boys outperformed girls in maths by 12 points on average in the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests.

The gender gap internationally stands at 11 points, it emerged, with girls performing better in just five nations.

Boys also did better than girls in science with a UK gender gap of 13 points – much larger than the OECD average of one point.

The report was compiled after 15-year-olds sat independently-administered tests in maths, reading and science across 65 developed nations. The exams are supposed to test pupils' ability to apply knowledge.

In a report, the OECD said girls felt “less motivated to learn maths and have less confidence in their abilities than boys”.

It comes amid continuing concerns over a shortage of female scientists and engineers and follows the publication of a Government report last month calling for a step-change in support for girls to raise standards in these disciplines.

The OECD report said: “Among girls, the greatest hurdle is in reaching the top: girls are under-represented among the highest achievers in most countries and economies, which poses a serious challenge to achieving gender parity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics occupations in the future.

“Some countries succeeded in narrowing the gender gap in mathematics; others need to find more effective strategies for improving the level of engagement, drive, self-beliefs and performance among girls.”

Despite male dominance of maths and science, it found that girls performed best in reading. Girls gained better results “almost everywhere”, the OECD said, with the gulf widening in 11 countries over the last three years.

Internationally, the gender gap in performance stood at 38 points, but the gap in the UK was "significantly less" at 25 points.

Andreas Schleicher, special adviser on education to the OECD's secretary-general, said: "In the UK that gender gap is not actually that pronounced. The UK is doing better than many countries in giving students, boys and girls equal opportunities, on balance."