Girls schools - good for grades, terrible for mental health?

I went single sex as did lots of my friends and ridiculously all these years on we still do not feel as at ease in mixed groups as others our age who attended co-eds. DD started in single sex because I thought things must have changed but she moved to a co-ed at 11+ at her own choice and I was pleased because the girls senior school felt just like my old school. The world has changed so much in the last 30 years and DD is a very modern girl.
DD still has lots of friends at the very big girls school and there is more drama and upsets there in one week than there is at her co-ed in a whole year. A few of her friends also left and went to co-eds, a mix of small Indy and large state comps, and say exactly the same thing. I don't think its the presence of boys that makes the difference I think its the reduced number of girls.
DD's current school has better results than the girls school, it has the best teaching of any school I have ever encountered and I do not believe that attending a co-ed will have any negative impact on her results.

I agree, advantages and disadvantages of both and it depends more on the particular school and how they deal with such things. My DDs went to a mixture of both mixed and single sex due to the nature of the local schools and 'fit' for them at the time - look at the individual school and best fit for your DD

If I had the choice where I live my boys would be at a single sex school too. However whereas there are single sex girls schools round here (fully subscribed to) there are no single sex boys schools so I can't.

I firmly believe in single sex ed and went to a girls' grammar and then a mixed sixth form (due to a house move). I'd recommend single sex all the way.

I found the mixed school had more bitchiness - perhaps as someone said above where SOME girls felt they needed to show off to the boys!
There was much more a heads down and work ethos at the single sex school and building each other up.

Boys bully just as much and also much more sexual harassment.
Being around women doesn't cause poor mental health people just like to put down female only pursuits.

I did both - went to a mixed comp for secondary and an all girls indy for sixth form.

I was amazed how much less bitching there was at the all girls school - as a another poster mentioned, there is less competition about who was going out with who etc.

If given a choice I would have gone to the all girls again in a heartbeat.

Arguably girls can be bitchier in a mixed environment due to playing up for the boys. There's also the risk of low level (or high level) sexual harassment from the boys, and being sidelined in the more traditionally male dominated classes. Yes society isn't single sex but school isn't the same as life, and I genuinely believe that single sex education gives girls the best possible chance to get a good education and prepare themselves for later life.

Anecdote: i went to a girls school. Did A Level biology. On the field trip the staff at the outward bound centre observed that my class were happy to throw on waders and waterproofs whereas the girls in a lot of the mixed groups were too worried about looking daft in front of the boys, and therefore couldn't participate in the fieldwork properly.

I went to both a mixed and an all-girls school for secondary. I found that while there was bitchiness in years 7 and 8 at the girls school, it was mostly done with by higher years, whereas it sort of stuck around a`bit longer among the girls at the co-ed.

There were problems with mental health at both schools, and I think that's an issue with most secondary schools now. I think due to the nature of certain mental illnesses being more prevalent in women there may be 'more' in the girls-school because there are more girls.

Where I live there are no single sex state schools so my Dd goes to a mixed comp. It's OK, but the boys get the funny parts in the plays and cause trouble in class and dominate debates etc etc. There's also a bit of slut shaming. I'm sure there are advantages too!

I went to a coed comp and had an eating disorder and self harmed. If you’re an unhappy kid then you’re an unhappy kid regardless of what school you’re at.

I think girls who go to single sex schools are more confident. I've noticed that a disproportionate number of "successful" women went to girls schools.
Maybe because boys dominate and hog all the attention?

I went to a girls grammar over 30 years ago and loved it. Didn't notice any real bitchiness (no more than I am sure happens in other schools) and no mental health issues at all.

My DD is now at an indy girls and loving it. Again, the odd friendship issue, but nothing serious. I think schools are far more aware of mental health issues now, and the good ones put in place good support/pastoral systems and help the girls deal with pressure etc.

I don't have research to point at (and I'd be cautious about what there is, because it would be ferociously difficult to get robust conclusions - you can't randomly allocate children to schools and there are many variables!) but I've got more positive about single sex education in adolescence over the years.

It's true all-girl communities can be bitchy - but the bitchiness isn't necessarily any less just because there are boys around, and on the down side you add in the frankly dysfunctional teenage dating dynamics and the much greater exposure to gender stereotyping at an age when that can be really influential.

I used to think it was a disadvantage for girls to arrive at university having known few boys, but now I think it's more likely an advantage to skip the teenage stuff. Certainly looking at my female university friends, I don't see a tendency for those from single sex schools to have any difficulty forming relationships; maybe the reverse.

Studies do show girls perform better in single sex schools. The problems any child experiences at school will be a mixture of their home life, cohort, mental health, social skills and very importantly the schools attitude to pastoral care.

One thing you need to consider is how much pressure do you want your DD to experience? DH and I could have easily educated our DS privately but chose not to. I know they give an advantage, I worked in higher education for a couple of decades and saw end product. I also know my own child and knew it wouldn't be for him. He attended a local comp that is very bog standard. It's a bit dodge to quote my son but the school deal with issues really well and he has just got brilliant gcse results.

DH and I experienced a crappy comp and a public school that has been the number one school in the country between us.Look as to what suits your child as well as your own ethos.

Personally I'm not a fan of single sex education because society isn't single sex.