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A new study suggests that women may be learning more in the corridors of academia than what goes on in the classroom.

According to revealing new research, heterosexual women with post-secondary degrees are more likely to reach orgasm than their less educated counterparts. There is also a higher incident of orgasm in women who speak English at home, have a higher household income or hold a managerial or professional job, the Australian study found.

Confirming a widely held belief, the research also found that men were far more likely than women to experience an orgasm during their last sexual encounter, 98.4 per cent and 68.9 per cent respectively.

While men in their late teens were less likely to report having an orgasm during their last sexual encounter, women were substantially less likely to have an orgasm if they were in their late teens or in their 50s.

Aside from age, there is no significant association between a man's ability to reach a toe-curling climax and his household income, occupation, education or religion. Men were less likely to have an orgasm if they had been sexually active for two years or less, were uptight about sex or if they were engaging in casual sex, rather than with a regular partner.

There were much greater associations between socio-economic factors and female orgasms, however. Higher levels of education and income were associated with a greater prevalence for climaxing in women. Women were also more likely to reach orgasm if they used sex toys, or had sex more than twice a week in the month before they were surveyed.

Becoming sexually active before age of 16, length of time they were sexually active, number of past sexual partners, whether they masturbated, trolled Internet porn or watched X-rated videos had little association with a woman's ability to have an orgasm.

“The association between orgasm and demographic characteristics suggest a social-effect, with better-educated, non-immigrant women more likely to have orgasms,” the researchers state in their report. “Use of sex toys and orgasm in women may indicate a link between orgasm and sexual interest or adventurousness.”

The telephone survey was conducted by researchers from Sussex University, England, and the universities of Sydney and Melbourne, Australia. More than 10,100 men and 9,100 women aged 16-59 across Australia participated in the survey.

The study, “Sexual Practices at Last Heterosexual Encounter and Occurrence of Orgasm in a National Survey,” asked respondents what practices they engaged in during their last sexual encounter and whether they had an orgasm as a result.

Almost all the men surveyed said they reached orgasm from vaginal intercourse. Roughly 80 per cent said they did from oral sex.

For women, however, it was a different picture. Only 50 per cent reached orgasm from vaginal sex, while 70 per cent said they did through manual or oral stimulation.