Drawing from her in-depth ethnographic study of a London comprehensive school the author shows how gender formation for both girls and boys is mediated by disciplinary control, sexuality and the curriculum. Her findings for girls and boys - with their important emphases - are revealed. So are the responses and perspectives of the teachers. Prior to publication of this volume much feminist writing depicted the subordination of girls as a function of patriarchal control, both in terms of the teaching the girls receive and the behaviour of the boys around them. The author's narrative implicitly and explicitly challenges some of these views.