The declining number of women in computing is a cause for concern for those in education and the IT industry. A diverse workforce is necessary for there to be a creative balance in the IT industry. The reasons for this decline are varied and can be attributed to factors such as schooling, parental influences and the media. This article focuses on comparing the experiential differences between male and female students in GCSE ICT and A-level Computing and ICT lessons and their impact on students' motivation. Questionnaires were used to provide statistical outcomes and interviews were conducted to probe more deeply into the thoughts and feelings of students. The results show that male and female students have very different experiences of computing at school, which inform their perceptions and influence educational decision making. This article focuses on qualitative findings. (Contains 1 figure and 1 online resource.)