To think it’s unfair single-sex schools aren’t an option for many (perhaps even most)?

[patienceandprudence]

I have one single sex state school (and in fact there is only one private) in my county. It is in the county town, which we are not in the catchment for. It would take an hour and half to get to by public transport anyway.

Since it has been proven many times over that girls do better in single sex schools, why on earth aren’t there more options for those of us not in 11+ counties? I think it’s a great shame, and it doesn’t seem to be a thing that’s even being thought about.

@Rummikubfan

I totally disagree. I think co-Ed is vitally important and have had nothing but positive experiences with it for my children. My daughter has not experienced any negatives from boys in her school and both my children see each sex as absolute equals educationally socially and emotionally.

Exactly. Some bitter posters however seem to think every man is a serial rapist out to pounce on women.

This thread is a generalising disgust to be honest.

I hope those campaigning for all girls schools are not raising sons.

[quote postingfortraffichere]@Theeyeballsinthesky no I meant gender.

And I'm not suggesting girls would never ever encounter boys going to an all girls school, but obviously the amount of time they do would be drastically reduced - as you're at school for likely 30 hours+ a week that's a lot of your time when you are a child.

Interaction with boys would for most people be very few and far between if at a boys school.

[/quote]
There are no single gender schools. They are single sex schools.

@funinthesun19

Segregation of any type is not the answers to a problem and I find it sad some posters think it is - should we separate black, asian and white children because of racism? Or heterosexuals and gay people because of hate crimes? Why is gender different?

Completely agree.

Its completely different and a lazy argument.

Males attack females regardless of skin/sexual orientation.

And its not gender its sex. Sex really matters when discussing these points

Also, I’ve worked in both (the mixed was a very well respected school and what I saw daily was quite frankly shocking) and would never send my daughters to a mixed high school, luckily I had that choice.

Oh great, here comes the argument that anyone acknowledging that males are a threat to females are 'bitter'

@Evesgarden no it's not different - you are promoting segregation and it's wrong.

Also, what happens when your daughters go into a mixed sex workplace? Should we start having men and women only offices?

Yes yes OP find other ways to deal with the rise in sexual harassment and abuse in schools - you dds must not be sheltered from this! They need to experience this so that are totally acclimatised and conditioned for womanhood.

Yes and it’s girls’ job to deal with it of course. Sexual harassment in co-ed education just prepares them for the real world!

@SheldontheWonderSchlong

Oh great, here comes the argument that anyone acknowledging that males are a threat to females are 'bitter'

I acknowledge there is an issue with men and their sexual/physical conduct towards women I'm not denying it.

I'm just astounded people think I'm 2021 segregation is the answer.

[quote postingfortraffichere]@Evesgarden no it's not different - you are promoting segregation and it's wrong.

Also, what happens when your daughters go into a mixed sex workplace? Should we start having men and women only offices?

[/quote]
You do know they're schools not nunneries right?!

Most of the girls will have fathers, brothers, boy cousins.

Boy friends from primary school.

Most girls school do joint events (discos etc) with all-boy schools.

Boys on buses travelling to school.

There are mixed youth groups, Scouts etc.

@MissChanandlerBong81

Yes yes OP find other ways to deal with the rise in sexual harassment and abuse in schools - you dds must not be sheltered from this! They need to experience this so that are totally acclimatised and conditioned for womanhood.

Yes and it’s girls’ job to deal with it of course. Sexual harassment in co-ed education just prepares them for the real world!

So are you suggesting finding other ways to deal with the situation is impossible? And that the only answer you could come up with is to shift blame back to females?

The only answer to the problem of course is segregation? You are being ridiculous.

Also, I have a teenage boy. That doesn't stop me from acknowledging that teenage boys as a group of people represent a threat to teenage girls.

Agreed - I have two boys but don’t see it as ‘boy bashing’. I can remember my own experience in co-ed secondary vividly enough to understand exactly why parents of girls may have some concerns.

[quote postingfortraffichere]@aSofaNearYou how do boys dominate the learning environment? [/quote]
There have been lots of studies about it that I don't have the time to seek out right now, but basically it has to do with boys expecting to be heard more, their needs being centred, feeling girls are dominating when things are equal or even close to equal, some teachers perpetuating these norms. It's a well documented phenomenon.

We're moving back to NI soon hopefully but certainly before my daughter will start secondary. Single sex schools seem to be far more common there, although that might also be because most schools are religious. It's quite likely my daughter will end up at an all girls Catholic grammar (because of location more than anything else) and I'm far more concerned about the Catholic part than the single sex part given how biased the curriculum was when I was at school - hopefully it's changed over the years. But my religious education was based entirely on Catholicism - not a single mention in five years of any other religion or culture.

I had lots of hobbies where girls and boys mixed (music, martial arts etc) and also had friendship groups outside of school. It's not like I never saw or spoke to a boy till I left school at 16.

[quote postingfortraffichere]@Evesgarden no it's not different - you are promoting segregation and it's wrong.

Also, what happens when your daughters go into a mixed sex workplace? Should we start having men and women only offices?

[/quote]
If you dont understand the difference between segregating females against females because of skin colour and females and males for safety then I can't help you with that one and I'm not even going to try.

You do understand why female spaces where created by the Equality act dont you? You do understand why there are womens toilets and mens toilets? Its not just because the womens toilets smell better.

I ( because I went to an all girls school) did very well, I even got married and had three kids I then went on to work in a very male dominated industry - sports, I also worked in a pub when I was younger and even worked the vaults bar ( mens only room

I think my dds will do fine, they still play with boys from their early baby groups, they have male cousins, my friends have sons we all go on outings together. Honestly they dont shriek and shrivel up - they have been 'male socialised'

Its such a bizarre assumption that females that go to all girls schools will crumble at their first encounter with men - but it just goes to show the deep rooted internal misogyny that a lot of women have.

Yet wanting our dds to go in to education in a single sex space send people in to a froth despite the alarming figures of sexual assaults and harassment in schools - even in primary. The truth is too much to bear for some people so they just deny deny deny and push that schools should be coed so girls can learn how to cope and behave around boys

Look if you want to send your DD to a single sex school that’s fine. I honestly couldn’t give a damn what you choose to do. But you’re not allowed to make that decision for everyone else and you certainly shouldn’t be pushing to have decisions taken away from people.

So are you suggesting finding other ways to deal with the situation is impossible? And that the only answer you could come up with is to shift blame back to females?

There's a rape a day in schools. Under UK law rape is committed with the very male specific organ. Decades of mixed sex education hasn't done anything to change that. Isn't the definition of insanity repeating the same actions over and over and expecting a different outcome?

How many girls should be sacrificed in the male of trying to change male behaviour and stopping them from feeling sad because they can't be the special " nice one" ?

@funinthesun19

Yet wanting our dds to go in to education in a single sex space send people in to a froth despite the alarming figures of sexual assaults and harassment in schools - even in primary. The truth is too much to bear for some people so they just deny deny deny and push that schools should be coed so girls can learn how to cope and behave around boys

Look if you want to send your DD to a single sex school that’s fine. I honestly couldn’t give a damn what you choose to do. But you’re not allowed to make that decision for everyone else and you certainly shouldn’t be pushing to have decisions taken away from people.

The OP asked if there should be more single sex schools, not if every school should be single sex.

Diamond schools offer the best of both worlds, in my opinion. I don't think there are any state schools with that structure though, although I could be wrong.

Isn't the definition of insanity repeating the same actions over and over and expecting a different outcome?

It absolutely is - however your solution to the problem is what's ridiculous here - not your highlighting of the problem.

It's ridiculous that after giving so much though to the problem the best/only solution to the problem you can come up with is to segregate boys and girls.

So are you suggesting finding other ways to deal with the situation is impossible? And that the only answer you could come up with is to shift blame back to females?

The only answer to the problem of course is segregation? You are being ridiculous.

I don’t see single sex education as ‘shifting blame to females’ anymore than I see single sex toilets as ‘shifting blame to females’. If girls need or want or are happier in a single sex environment then I want them to have that option.

And of course there are other ways to deal with it. But it’s not the problem of girls or their parents to solve (ie I don’t think girls or their parents should have to ‘find other ways to deal with it’ as you suggested). Given that recent reports and studies have revealed what an appallingly entrenched problem sexual harassment in schools is (and it certainly was when I was at school) I can see why parents of girls don’t fancy sending their daughters to schools where they have to tolerate that while everyone else figures out what can be done about it.

Particularly given that the chances of it changing in the near future are low.

how do boys dominate the learning environment?

There is a live thread running at the moment where a Y3 girl is getting upset about school because a boy sat next to her keeps pushing her books off the table. One of the posters replied tell her to move her book. some of the replies ranged from - 'she needs to learn to stick up for her self to 'dont bother the teacher with emailing and asking about it'. There is a young girl in school who's eduction experience is being effected by a boy even in Y3 but its being dismissed by many posters.

This is exactly what dominating the environment is and the posters response was typical of the way people excuse male behaviour.

I don't think there should be more single sex schools. The system is massively underfunded as it is, and to put funding towards building or converting more same sex schools is a poor use of public funding.

@Evesgarden

how do boys dominate the learning environment?

There is a live thread running at the moment where a Y3 girl is getting upset about school because a boy sat next to her keeps pushing her books off the table. One of the posters replied tell her to move her book. some of the replies ranged from - 'she needs to learn to stick up for her self to 'dont bother the teacher with emailing and asking about it'. There is a young girl in school who's eduction experience is being effected by a boy even in Y3 but its being dismissed by many posters.

This is exactly what dominating the environment is and the posters response was typical of the way people excuse male behaviour.

Do you not think girls bully girls too?

Would it have been ok if it had been a girl pushing her books off the desk?

Honestly can't believe some of the things on this thread.

Do you not think the issue should be reported to the teacher regardless of who the bully is and what sex they are - instead you think single sex schools is the answer?!

The system is massively underfunded as it is, and to put funding towards building or converting more same sex schools is a poor use of public funding

Translation- as usual women and girls should have to wait til all other more important problems have been solved

@postingfortraffichere

Isn't the definition of insanity repeating the same actions over and over and expecting a different outcome?

It absolutely is - however your solution to the problem is what's ridiculous here - not your highlighting of the problem.

It's ridiculous that after giving so much though to the problem the best/only solution to the problem you can come up with is to segregate boys and girls.

Absolutely! I can't change how other people parent their kids or how schools deal with it so I put my kids in an all girls school because that's the one problem I can fix