The principal of one of Bermuda's top schools has called for teenagers under the age of 18 to be banned from riding mopeds -- claiming it has a poor effect on their education.

Mount St. Agnes Academy principal Sister Judith Rollo said it was a known fact at her school that girls achieved higher grades than boys and she said it was partly down to motorcycles.

She said boys spent too much time on their bikes when they should be at home catching up on their studies.

But she said boys were also allowed to be more laidback than girls, and parents tended to be more lenient towards their sons, while pushing their daughters harder.

Sister Judith said: "I do not have figures, but I know that girls outperform the boys in this school across the board.

"It is because of the way Bermuda is. Boys are allowed to stay out longer at night -- often until very late -- riding around on their mopeds. They do not concentrate on their work.

"If I had my way, nobody would ride a moped until they had graduated from school or until they were 18.

Principal Rollo calls for increase in driving age "They take concentration away from school work, especially among males. I have suggested banning them for 16 and 17-year-olds before and I am still in favour of it.

"At the very least, there should be some sort of after-dark restriction.

"Schoolwork would improve then, especially for the boys.'' But she also accused Bermuda of going soft on males and said parents had to ensure that boys were made to work hard.

She added: "Bermuda spoils their boys. People do not expect the same from boys like they do girls and parents don't get on their cases like they do girls. This is why men seem to be dropping out of society.'' It is an international phenomenon that during the teen years girls outperform their male classmates in schools around the world.

Some believe the widest gap occurs while the children are aged about 13 and 14, when girls begin to mature ahead of their counterparts.

However, the difference in ability sometimes begins to close between the ages of 16 and 18 as boys mature and race to catch up.

In Bermuda, both the private and Government schools said they did not calculate their exam results according to gender, so they had no way of knowing what the breakdown was.

However, Bob Lennox, head of Warwick Academy, said his school bucked the trend as girls and boys fared much the same, although the highest individual achievers this year were boys.

Mr. Lennox also doubted the moped theory saying about 80 percent of 16 to 18-year-olds at his school had bikes, and all but one of his pupils this year graduated.

He said: "I think we must buck the trend because our students are about 50/50 in overall achievement. But the individuals who have achieved the personal best during the last three years have been boys. We expect the same from everyone.'' Nobody from the Department of Education has been available for comment during the last few days, but yesterday Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown said he would be dead set against banning people under 18 from mopeds.

He said: "No ban, no ban.

"I don't think that's the answer. It's a stronger than necessary response and it would not solve the real issue.

"Young ladies all over the world and in every culture demonstrate greater maturity than young males do at that age. That's an established medical fact.

"The moped is to Bermuda what the car is to the US -- people aged 16 there can drive.

"If it was not a moped that distracted our young men it would be something else that affected their academic performance.'' TRANSPORTATION TRA