All girls schools - pros and cons

If the school 'feels' right then it's the one for her.
Dd1 is in yr 10 at a girls comprehensive and dd2 has just started at a mixed one. They each loved the one they had chosen and loathed the other.
Luckily they are both good schools and I was happy to go with their decisions.
Having 3 girls and no boys I did have reservations about dd1's choice but I think it's been good for building her confidence.
There are groups of bitchy girls but I think you probably get that in all schools.

Yes, definitely changed then edam! The other sounds delightful lol There were some girls from the High School at DD's open day today, helping out.

Yes, definitely changed then edam! The other sounds delightful lol There were some girls from the High School at DD's open day today, helping out.

Hated my all girls school it was a really bitchy enviroment, would never send DD to one, but others thereloved it.

Hula, I was curious after your post so went and had a look at their website. The uniform has completely changed! In my day (how OLD does that make me feel?) and judging from old photos since WW2 it was chocolate brown with a hideous brown, yellow and orange tartan kilt. And orange aertex shirts for games. Looks much nicer now. Lucky dd!

The only girls I know who went to our local 'ladies college' were certainly not ladies. They gave it up for nowt they did

Sure the education is fab though.......

But as eidsvold said even at Habs I think the girls got the better end of the deal than boys.

Xenia I used to teach at habs and I think they have it right there. The girls certainly did shine at the girls school, perhaps it is the combination of personalities in my group. Also when I was at Habs there was very strong parental support wheras our school has very little parental support and much much lower levels of acheivement. There is so much more to a school than whether it is single or mixed sex.

Have taught in all gorls school and am currently teaching single sex classes. In my current year 10 GCSE classes I teach my topset single sex and my second set in a tradtional mixed sex group. THe second mixed set group is doing better both in terms of results and behvaiour as the presence of boys seems to lighten the atmosphere in a room. I do have quite a collection of strong charactars inmy girls set but at times there is a bitch fest atmosphere in the room. Some girls love it but they are fewer in number and I have had quite a few girls come to me begging me to return back to mixed groups as they find the atmosphere and in bitching between the girls too much.

I did and it was fine and my daughters did and have no trouble mixing with boys at university. One daughter's school, Habs, had a boys school on the next site and anyway in their normal life lots of boys, brothers etc around. It was very advantageous, girls get better exam results in single sex schools and they aren't under pressure to wear special clothes, avoid science etc and I think it's great to keep them away from sex whilst they're too young for it and should be concentrating on getting good A levels.

I went to a girls school and absolutely loathed it! I have two DDs and they are both at mixed schools. I think it is important particularly if you only have girls and no brothers.
For my part, loads of school friends (myself included!) were just desperate to meet and mix with boys and quite a few of us went off the rails (me included!) I just think its healthier to mix with boys (its normal in life after all!) because you get such a slanted view otherwise... this is just my opinion of course...!

Good to hear

I'll have to look into the high school uniform and see if it has changed. At the moment the girls seem to have those skirts really short!

It was mid-calves when I was there but some people rolled it up at the waist to shorten it. But you could definitely get a plain kilt as an alternative to tartan. Think they chose the uniform to make us as unattractive as possible to the opposite sex.

All my friends who had come from your dd's schoolm (which was a high percentage of the class) really enjoyed it and were very nice.

Didn't know there was a choice! Was in local press last week, someting to do with their uniform. All had the kilt skirt which is so short!!!

Really? Excellent to hear it's good

DD won't start there for a few years yet, but she is currently loving her new school. And pretty much all the girls, with one or two exceptions, go onto the same high school afterwards.

But don't make her wear that horrid tartan kilt, get her the plain one (assuming the uniform hasn't changed, was the same last time I was up there).

Hula, agree your dd will be fine, given I went to the high school she will!

I went to a girls' school at 14. Loved it. Such a relief - no horrible boys thinking it was funny to do huge farts in lessons (or any other time), harassing us, poking us with rulers, disrupting lessons. But that could have been the shitty comp I went to aged 12 and 13.

Didn't notice any bitchiness or nymphomania. I think the latter is a myth put about by people who are hostile to girls' schools anyway (including teenage boys at the school across the road - because they were jealous we didn't need them, I think). I only had a couple of male friends outside school but have never had a problem dealing with men in adult life and nor have my friends.

We did have social events organised by the school with nearby boys' schools but I thought the boys were pretty pathetic, tbh - that could be a public school thing, though. I quite like public school-educated men as an adult, they usually have very good manners. But not as teenagers!

DD has just started at an all girl's school and will be in single sex education until she is 18. I have no problems with that at all. We know a fair few boys out side of school, so it's not as if boys are alien too her.

Know of a few people who have been to ingle sex schools - all pretty normal.

If you're concerned about anorexia levels in the school, why not ask the school about their pastoral care and what action they are taking to prevent eating disorders among their pupils.

figroll, you are right, it is the group of girls she has been put with. They are an accelerated group who think they are better than everyone else and they are smug when they get a good grade and evil when someone gets better than them and they then accuse the other person of cheating etc. I HATE THEM. I think they are some of the nastiest, self opinionated little bitches I have ever met. They also have no loyalty whatsoever to their 'friends', and will dump them in town and go off with someone else if they feel like it. AAAAAARGH, sorry, I hate secondary school.

major pro - no smelly boys toilets.

curlew, is it state or private, am assuming state because of the size.

I would be slightly concerned at the size if it is private - I am going to look at a co-ed private that is that size but tbh that factor does concern me.

the educational research suggests that girls do better academically in single sex schools than boys whereas boys tend to do better in mixed schools.