All girls school or mixed comp

Agree Cathy. I go to meetings etc at my dds all girls school and feel quite jealous- I would have thrived in an all girls school.

Single sex for daughters
Mixed sex for son
Really depends on the school and the child though

Every woman I know who went to a girls' school recommends it.

I wish I'd gone to one.

Do you have any evidence for any of this? These sound like wild assumptions to me.

Does this help…

Some stats from End Violence Against Women:

• 1/3 of 16-18 year old girls say they have experienced unwanted sexual touching at school
• 59% of young women aged 13-21 say they had faced some form of sexual harassment at school or college in the past year
• 600 rapes in schools were reported to police between 2012 and 2015 – an average of a rape every day of the school year.
• Nearly three-quarters (71%) of all 16-18 year olds say they hear terms like “slut” or “slag” used towards girls at school on a regular basis
• 24% 16-18-year-olds say that their teachers never said unwanted sexual touching, sharing of sexual pictures or sexual name calling are unacceptable

Bear in mind that the above statisitcs refelct only the abuse that is reported. Ie it is the tip of an iceberg.

With the rise of incel culture and Andrew Tateism across the UK I would not out a daughter into a mixed sex school if I had a single sex option available.

Better to grow up boy obsessed / shy around boys than to spend the teen years fending off insults and assaults.

I went to an all girls school and it severely impacted my confidence in later life . Both my daughters went to mixed schools and have thrived. It's personal choice but for me was not even a question.

I'm with those who say depends on the girl, depends on the school - a good mixed comp is better than a poor single-sex school. That aside, if all things are otherwise equal, if I had a daughter, I'd favour single sex for secondary.

I went to an all girls secondary. There were some mixed events (theatre productions, language exchanges.) Some 6th form classes were shared with the boys, but depending where you are, she might have to or want to change for 6th form anyway. We saw boys outside of school, at swimming club and various other activities. It doesn't have to be a totally single sex life just because lessons are. And even if it is, it's not all a bad thing till they're older.

My dd is at a girls school (Yr 9) and loves it. She has a lovely group of friends and she is doing really well. She stays out of the trouble (which I know is at all schools regardless of whether they're mixed or not).

I always thought she'd be good at a mixed school but in Year 6 she started to lose confidence and found that the boys in her class tried to dominate discussions and were a bit disruptive. Going to a girls school made her much more sure of her abilities.

I moved from mixed Secondary to girls Sixth form... and suddenly my science and maths lessons were so calm and thoughtful rather than the boys dominating over girls.

My own DD is having a similar experience. Her maths/science set (top set) is two thirds boys and the girls feel side lined. She would jump at an opportunity for an all girls class.

I would visit the schools and be guided by your daughter’s preferences and personality. I had always been cautious about single sex education until my daughter came to choosing her high school.

In our town, the girls high school is in a totally different league to the mixed schools. DD loved every second of it. She has thrived in STEM and is studying these subjects at A level, aiming to continue at uni. More importantly she was really happy there and had wonderful, kind friends.

Her school didn’t have a sixth form so she is now at a mixed college. She does sometimes get frustrated when SOME of the boys try to talk over the girls in her maths classes but she has an inbuilt confidence from her high school that stands her in good stead. She has also made another lovely group of friends.

At the moment she has no internet in boyfriends (or girlfriends) she’s busy with college, work and friends.

Terribly sexist of me but I chose single sex for my dds but if I had a son I think I would prefer mixed. According to Dd the boys from the boys state school are hopeless at interacting with girls and are more likely to follow Andrew Tate have weird views on girls etc than the boys from the mixed schools (state and private).

OP Is your DD in girls school or mixed primary currently? Does she have any strong preference herself?

I agree that it depends on the individual schools, but I have a bias in favour of single sex for girls from 11-16. The evidence seems to show better academic outcomes, it protects them from sexual harassment in school (I know, not all boys, and girls can also harass, but the figures on this are clear) and it gives them opportunities to find what they enjoy and are good at without anything being a ‘boys’ subject.

OP I’d ask a few questions about the mixed school. Things like how many girls do maths and physics at A level (as a percentage of the class)? How many sports teams are there for girls compared to boys, and how many matches do they each play? What is their policy on sexual harassment, and can they describe (anonymously) the last time they implemented it and the outcome? If you’re concerned about bullying / bitchiness in an all girls environment, you could ask the girls school how they deal with interpersonal bullying etc.

This isn't so true in my experience. My DD's single sex girls comprehensive school is nurturing and feels like a very positive and empowering place to learn as a young woman. Can't imagine these girls feeling awkward around boys in the future! There are no 'boy' subjects, the behaviour seems better in comparison to what my DD experienced in her mix primary and the school is less strict without boys.

I always wondered about the statement - there are more eating disorders in all girls schools - could that be because more girls are affected by eating disorders therefore in an all girls school you will find a greater proportion (because there are no boys?).

OP of course all schools will be different and you'll get a mix of experiences here like mine and pp. You should go and visit the single sex school you are considering, listen to what the head teacher says about how they teach the girls and compare that to what you see at the other potential schools.

Also crucially - what does your DD think? My DD was very on board with the all girls aspect for reasons listed above. Some of her friends less convinced.

I was the only girl in my GCSE physics class and one of only 2 in my A level chemistry class and I felt I stuck out because of it.

For sure. I could survive it because I (and the other girl doing the double maths) consistently did better than all the boys. A girl who was merely quite good at these subjects would have found it pretty tough I think, no matter what their interests and aspirations.

My DD is at an all girls comp school and enjoys it - my view (having gone to a mixed sex school myself) is that there are pros and cons to both and a lot depends on your child. But I’d agree the point about maths/STEM subjects, I feel an all girls school has been better for encouraging my daughter in these. I was the only girl in my GCSE physics class and one of only 2 in my A level chemistry class and I felt I stuck out because of it.

Hi op...my DD is in year 8...we had a choice of her either going to the mixed state school that her brother goes to or an all girls state school. We opted for the girls school. I am so pleased we did. Biggest issue for me was friendships...she'd been in a boy heavy primary school class and it was a disaster for her in terms of friendships. Being in a girls school means she has a much wider pool of girls to be friends with. Another issue that bothered me was porn culture and boys behaviour nowadays. I'll happily keep her away from that for as long as possible. Another thing is I feel She can just get on with her work. She remarked to me when she started secondary school that it's so much easier to concentrate without boys mucking around all the time. I think being in a girls school gives her more confidence to speak out and fulfil her potential.

Both my dds went to the local girls comp. Oldest is now in its mixed sixth form, younger (Y10) has moved as she wanted a specialist music school (so she now boards at a co-ed school quite far from home).

Both agree, having now seen the other side, that they benefitted hugely from single sex. It's the one thing DD2 says she'd change about her new school...

They are all very different of course, but do go and see with an open mind. Both my girls certainly still have male friends and can relate to boys, but they find that some boys take up too much 'space' in lessons and push them out, which is frustrating.

If she shows any kind of aptitude for maths send her to the single sex one. It never fails to amaze me in my female dominated work place how many of them check out at the first mention of any kind of calculation.

Some schools of either type are 'healthy environments', others aren't.
There was one private girls school in our area we'd heard those sorts of criticisms from, from a credible source. DDs school wasn't at all as you describe.
One child's 'academic pressure' is another's 'appropriately challenging learning environment'. I went to a mixed grammar turned comp where I was the only girl in my physics and chemistry sets and just one other in double maths .... it's astonishing to find that there's still a big imbalance in stem subjects (also comp sci) nowadays in mixed schools. But not in single sex ones! DDs school had 2 sets for gcse comp sci, a full set for electronics, lots doing further maths and physics. Maths and chemistry were the most taken subjects.

In a girls school, there's no nonsense ideas that some subjects are for boys or that the robotics club isn't for girls. They are never the 'second sex'!

I don't think single sex schools are healthy environments, I think the risk of mental health issues are much higher particularly in an all girls school. I am quite sure eating disorders are worse at all girls schools . I would never want to risk that. And in grammar girls schools you have the extra strain of all the academic pressure they give them too.

It depends on so much. My dd went to mixed but in secondary said the boys were too disruptive and annoying. This improved a bit during GCSE as she was in the top set of most subjects and she said the boys were better behaved, but she asked to go to an all girls sixth form as she 'just wants to learn' and not put up with boys (she has a brother which she felt was enough).
Now I know people will say all girls (or any girls) can be bitchy etc but she thrived there and had no issues. Came out with three A stars so I guess she did indeed 'learn'.
So I wouldn't get so hung up about it in primary. But look at secondary options carefully and the personality and desires of your daughter then.