Schools are failing boys because lessons have become "feminised", says a leading academic who wants to see outdoor adventure given greater emphasis in the curriculum.
Tony Sewell, an author and director of The Learning Trust, will today a conference in London called Boys to Men: Teaching and Learning Masculinities in Schools and Colleges that boys fall behind in exams and the jobs market because teachers do not nurture male traits such as competitiveness and leadership.
Mr Sewell, a former Leeds University education lecturer, said some boys became so alienated by the feminised classroom they turned to gang violence to vent their anger.
He wants to see more outdoor activities in the curriculum and some coursework replaced with final exams. Mr Sewell also argues that more male teachers should be recruited, particularly in primary schools.
The educational consultant and broadcaster told the Daily Mail today: "We have challenged the 1950s patriarchy and, rightly said, this is not a man's world. But we have thrown the boy out with the bathwater.
"In the 70s we changed the story for girls. Our attitude was that boys can get on with it. It's a question of balance, and I believe it has gone too far the other way."
Mr Sewell said lessons and exams, with an emphasis on coursework, were now more suited to girls and were seriously disadvantaging boys.
He told the Mail: "We have let down boys over the years. The school system does not value enough of the traditional male things like competition. Boys are finding it increasingly difficult to cope where things are uncertain for them, specifically around competition or the use of physical strength.
"They have found the skills have been feminised. What seems to have been beaten out of them is any enthusiasm for anything. Some boys are resorting to gangs, which present a world where basic male instincts hold sway."
Mr Sewell said girls would often complete a project because they were "meant to", even if they were uninterested, but there was evidence that boys needed a sense of purpose.
However, Mr Sewell's comments were criticised by John Dunford, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders. Mr Dunford told the Mail: "Schools have put an immense amount of effort into raising boys' achievement in recent years, just as they did for girls in the previous years."
He said Mr Sewell's comments were "sweeping generalisations".