To think single sex schools are better and don’t cause weird feelings of otherness between boys and girls?

[littlemyyyy]

I wasn’t sent to a single sex school but my daughter certainly will be after my experiences in 5 different schools.

Essentially, boys made school hell for me and all the other girls. I went to 2 catholic schools, a private school and 2 regular state schools and it was the same everywhere.

Boys making comments on the girls appearances incessantly (especially during PE); popular girls being touched up and teachers laughing it off when told; boys generally sexualising everything all the time and just too much sexism to even begin to explain. This wasn’t all of them, obviously, but the vast majority.

I had 4 close male friends over my school years and all of them were more ‘feminine’ (and of course bullied about it). Even so any egging on by the other boys could easily push them into making the same awful sexist comments.

Furthermore I feel like many people send boys to boys schools with no qualms, but with girls schools I always hear that it’ll be ‘bitch central’ when female friendships can be so lovely and long-lasting when not viewed through the lens that all girls do is be nasty.

Also there’s many studies showing the benefits of single sex education, especially for girls who are actually at a detriment from mixed sex schooling, and no wonder.

Opinions ??

My daughter is so happy to have gone the mixed comp . She always said boys were so much funnier in the classroom and single sex would have made school too boring and serious. Not sure if that's a good thing but she got great GCSE results so who am i to argue!

Single sex schools send kids out not knowing how to interact with the other sex. That's a huge failing that lets you down in life

Maybe some do. Not all. To much of a sweeping generalisation.

I more meant nurture by giving access to friendships out of school.

Ah, that's fair enough. I think I visualised some sort of playdate set-up (for children at different schools), specifically geared towards creating platonic friendships between girls and boys.

Going to a single sex school doesn’t mean you are closeted away from the opposite sex it’s not Malory towers. Our small city has single sex state schools and they mix just fine out of school

Although it’s admittedly cool to be gay or pan sexual at dds school ...

Society isn't single sexed, so the sooner we learn to coexist the better.

I find this reasoning strange. School is also the only place where you would be strictly segregated by age for the vast majority of the day. But nobody clamours first mixed age teaching, because there are ample opportunities outside of school for learning how to get along with a wide variety of people.

I went to a mixed primary and single sex secondary. I've taught in both single and mixed sex secondaries. Really, the mixed vs single sex is just one of a huge range of things you need to know about a school before deciding which one will best suit your individual child.

I've been to both.

Personally I preferred single sex girls school. Like you op I found boys to be a nightmare for a variety of reasons. I didn't find the girls school bitchy or anything like that. I know other girls that didn't like it and would have preferred mixed.

Funnily enough I still don't enjoy the company of blokey blokes iyswim? I DO however live in a house with all males, husband and sons and it's absolutely fine.

Would I send my own child to a single sex school? No, unless they specifically asked to. I think it suits some children but not others.

I think co-ed schooling is very important. Boys and girls need to learn how to respectfully act around each other. The best way to do this is integration.

If the boys are that nasty, it means parenting and behaviour management needs to be called into question.

The best way to do this is integration

Integration doesn’t only have to happen in the school.

Lots of unpleasant generalisations and cliches about boys on this thread . All three of my boys have been co- ed , no single sex boys school within 30 miles so not a choice. All of them have had mixed gender friendship groups , something that interestingly seems to have been a slight adjustment for the girls who arrived for sixth form from the local girls school who seemed to equate speaking to a boy as flirting . They soon settled down but I was surprised at their attitude in 2019.

Mine are arty drama types , just as many boys as girls on stage , choirs 50:50 , roughly 2/3 girls to boys in English set , equal in maths , Most of the sciences also half and half.

She always said boys were so much funnier in the classroom

Maybe they were just more loud and obvious?

Single sex schools send kids out not knowing how to interact with the other sex.

Nonsense - unless their life outside of school is also restricted I suppose. The anecdata on this thread includes girls who went to mixed sex schools but who chose girls as their friends and female dominated activities - personal preference and character, not really down to the school.

I went to a mixed school. The boys were vile and there was still plenty of bitchiness. I don’t think boys mediate girl on girl bullying at all.

My DC’s go to a mixed primary but DD1 will be going to an all girls secondary, her choice but fully supported by me. She cannot wait to leave the annoying boys behind. I just don’t think it benefits young teenage girls to be educated with boys, sorry. I want her to focus on her education, her friends and her development free from sexual harassment or misogyny. However I’m glad that other parents feel differently as I’d rather send my sons to a mixed secondary school.

I think it depends on the school and the individual. I went to a mixed comp and then a mixed grammar. My best friend was a boy from Primary all the way through to the end of sixth form so I had very positive experiences with boys. Bullies at my schools were male and female; I wouldn't say one sex was more likely to bully than the other.

I am now a teacher. It's interesting to see the dynamics between boys and girls. I can definitely see how some pupils would benefit from a single-sex experience and how others thrive in a mixed environment. We recently had a girls only exam class (purely down to an unusually girl-heavy cohort and timetabling) and it was interesting to hear how teachers of that class felt there was something to be said for a single-sex group, particularly for encouraging shyer pupils out of their shells. There have also been suggestions of making intervention classes single-sex for the same reason, although this remains under discussion. It's certainly a topic that I am thinking about for my own DC and their future education but a lot will depend on them as individuals and their own preferences.

DD goes to a single sex school but most schools in my area are segregated like this. The few co-ed schools are extremely popular and unless we happen to live next door we had no chance of getting DD in. The single sex school is very feminist-forward and is also a STEM specialist school. Quite high achieving. I have little complaint except that DD no longer socialises with boys (males are in sixth form, but until then...) so that's a big worry.

It was the girls in my class who made my life hell. The boys were lovely. One of my friends was sent to an all girls school though specifically because her parents didn't want her distracted or being obsessed with dating and snogging. She was gay, remembering that does make me smile.

I think co-ed schooling is very important. Boys and girls need to learn how to respectfully act around each other. The best way to do this is integration

Totally agree. I went to single sex, it was fine, I didn’t dislike it but I purposely chose co-Ed for my kids and I have no regrets. They always say hear they wouldn’t like to be in a single sex school and I love how they have very easy natural friendships with both sexes.

That old chestnut!