AIBU to prefer an all girls state secondary for my daughters?

We have 15 in Hertfordshire (8 state funded).

Same experience here. Dd is 16 and is about to start sixth form. She has really loved school and is much more confident in her abilities now after leaving a mixed primary (where she was starting to feel talked over by boys in her last few years). Her school is very inclusive and friendly. She does a few sorts outside school with mixed groups and has a boyfriend- she hasn't suffered from being at a girls school. She has also been allowed to be herself- she doesn't care so much about make up, short skirts etc for school

DD is at an all girls school (going into year 8) and she loves it. I’m also extremely happy with the school.

I said two before but actually there are four (maybe more) single sex girls state non-grammar schools near us (<30min). Two are Harris.
Also know of at least one in a relatively nearby county but not commutable to us (not Harris).

And presumably a large number of these are grammar schools. I don’t know any single sex schools in my county that aren’t private and we don’t have grammar schools here, therefore no single sex state schools at all

There are only just over 200 girls state schools in the country, of which 70 are in London.

There are 8 in the whole of Yorkshire, mostly in West Yorkshire.

But it's still a divide if there are none thay are accessible. And as you have seen there are fewer in general in the north

But that's not my part of the north east. They are an hour and a half or longer on public transport which makes them inaccessible for teesside children.

I went to a girls grammar, as did my sisters and my nieces currently go to the same one. We all loved/ love it. Had fabulous experience. Behaviour was excellent, teachers were supportive and I never saw or experienced bullying. Didn’t find it cliquey at all and my nieces don’t either. We all got excellent gcse/ A level results.
my dd got a score to attend this school but we live further away so it wasn’t really an option but dd wanted to go to a mixed sex grammar anyway. She loves it and finds the boys funny!

I went to a mixed sex school and always thought mixed schools were better. However, after teaching in all girls and mixed sex state schools, I chose to send my daughter to single sex. Boys dominate in mixed schools. They dominate in the classroom, outside of the classroom and when it comes to curriculum choices. 96% of the prison population is male and 4% is female. If you work in schools this statistic doesn't come as much of a surprise.

The dynamic in the classroom is very different. Girls tend to be quieter when boys are around and boys tend to take up a lot of air time. Girls can be used in seating plans and groups to manage boys behaviour. Quite a lot of girls change their behaviour and clothing to please the boys. Some of the boys are very misogynistic and girls have to deal with sexual harassment from a young age. At the most academic end of the school the impact can also be seen when it comes to A level choices. For some reason girls are more likely to take stem subjects in single sex schools than they are in mixed schools. It isn't surprising that girls generally do better academically in single sex.

For boys, I think it is better to be in mixed sex.

The schools I taught in were London state schools. Apart from one, they were all fairly diverse. However, the dominant ethnicity and social/economic background of the children does make a big impact on the culture of the school. This is probably more significant than whether it is single sex/mixed sex. You don't want your child to feel isolated.

I would say it depends on the child and how much interaction they have with boys already. You say your DD has boys in her extracurricular activities so that helps. I went to a single sex secondary school. I had a large group of mixed sex friends outside of school so it suited me but some of the girls in my school didn’t and were obsessed with the boys from the school across the road

I've taught in all girls, all boys and mixed schools in my career and I found all boys the easiest and all girls the hardest, so toxic! It obviously depends on the schools I suppose, they were all state schools though.

My dds all went to a girls school, my ds to a mixed one. My ds did ok, just about, the girls got a great education and made friends for life, it was definitely the best option for them.

That’s terrible. Very unfair.

If its newcastle its an hour and a half away from me. Nearest grammar is Ripon 1 hour drive away.

There are no single sex state schools in Scotland anymore. I think girls probably benefit from them, but it's no longer a choice here.

I think if your girls want to go there its up to them really.Your DH isnt going!

Example of North South divide. No grammars either

I completely agree. I went to a girls school and it was such an oasis away from boys jostling to dominate. And I say this as a mother to 3 boys, and a sister to two. I have no issue with boys, and I don't think we need to stereotype them at all. In fact the stereotype is part of the problem.

It's society which seems to think/expect boys should be loud, domineering and assertive, something that my elder brother and middle son also struggled with. The same studies which say that girls perform better in single sex schools also show that many boys do less well in single sex schools - for exactly the same reasons!