The headmaster of one of Oxfordshire's top-performing schools has hit out at a culture of 'cool', which he says is damaging boys' education.

Mark Turner, head of Abingdon School, said boys were falling behind girls in exam results because some thought it was unfashionable to work.

His comments followed the release of last year's GCSE results, which Mr Turner described as "ordinary".

Boys at the independent school, which costs £15,000 a year for boarders, achieved A or A* grades in 60 per cent of exams, but this failed to impress Mr Turner.

He told parents in his autumn newsletter: "To say that these results were very ordinary is, quite intentionally, to damn with faint praise. I have no truck whatsoever with the usual excuses: girls do better than boys, coursework mitigates against boys doing well, and so on. The real reason is that for a small minority it is seen as 'un-cool' to work too hard.

"By being told by everyone from politicians downwards that GCSEs are as easy as falling off a log, some have been lulled into a sense of complacency and false security."

He urged parents to encourage boys to study harder, by discouraging part-time jobs and partying.

Mr Turner said the problem was widespread, adding: "There is a high number of boys who are performing extremely well and who shouldn't be tarnished with the same brush.

"Abingdon is no better or worse than anywhere else. This needs to be tackled nationally.

"My advice is to boys across the nation. There is a culture which encourages them that it's not cool to work, and that needs to be challenged head-on.

"Pop groups, fashions and football teams come and go. Coolness is a teenage distraction, and those that follow whatever is cool are likely to be left high and dry.

"There is nothing wrong in being seen to work too hard. You get out what you put in, and it's important for boys to be aware of that."

The parent of an Abingdon School pupil, who asked not to be named, said: "Most parents would agree that the headmaster's comments are quite valid.

"It's hard enough for parents of adolescent males to curb their enthusiasm for the usual distractions of growing up, but it becomes a matter of greater concern if dedication to their studies becomes something they are ashamed of among their friends and fellow pupils."