Mixed sex boarding dorms

[willwankortu]

It might sound like a silly question, but… how do boarding schools (especially six forms) prevent boys and girls “mixing” after a certain time… if you know what I mean

They’re usually in different houses - physically separate buildings - with decent security and discipline deterrents to stop anyone leaving their own house after a certain time.

In DD dorm alarms go off if a door or window (on the ground floor) is opened after curfew. Then the rule is every person in the dorm has to attend a roll call in the common room. Anyone who sets them off gets very short shrift from the other girls as its such a pain

Yes it's always girls houses and boys houses which are usually separate buildings but occasionally different corridors/wings within the same building.

I very much doubt it but I do wonder whether any school would allow a trans-identifying teen to join the house of the opposite sex

They have buildings for different sexes (or separate wings / floors) plus security cards to open each (ie boys can’t get into the girls’ house).
Inevitably boys and girls will find ways to hook up if they really want but it generally won’t happen at night when everyone is locked into their houses.

There were some boarding schools (Bryanston springs to mind) that had quite woke policies on this. Case by case basis blah blah but yes - essentially they said they would let children play opposite sex sports and sleep in opposite sex dorms.
I suspect that is changing now (said policies magically vanishing from websites) because of SC decision re who gets access to single sex spaces.

Different houses, doors and windows alarmed at night

Marlborough have some mixed houses

No idea how they keep an eye on “that”

They did say during a visit though that the younger boys enjoyed having “older sisters” around to boss them about. Which is hard to believe.

What young boy has ever wished for that?

Their insurance will have tight guidelines around it. Its a safeguarding issue and if anything happened to a girl it'd be costly.

Or to a boy

sincerely, how can this be policed?

IMHO mixed houses are a dumb idea

not just due to the obvious and all the conduct and safeguarding issues but also because mixed houses will find it harder to compete in all the single sex inter house sports

Aware at one school that boy caught in girls room was expelled.
He would have entered through a door as windows don’t open enough to smuggle in even a beer can.

Oh at my boarding school, the kids would be at it under the stage, in the playing field, behind a shed, farmers field.... If they want to have sex they will!

True

Indeed. At a school one of my DDs attended there was a “shagging field”. It is now out of bounds so I expect they just do it elsewhere.

Why do you want to know, @willwankortu?

My ex was at boarding school and I stayed in the masters apartments after balls and he managed to creep in, god knows how we had the nerves. This was in the 2005, a simpler time 😂

The girls have staircases that magically turn into slides if a boy goes on them

My first thought too!

Thinking of sending DD to six form (boarding, mixed houses)

They don’t need to mingle at night. Many opportunities on school grounds during the day for those who are desperate. Grounds staff find condoms.

The girls were on a different floor in my DD’s house and they had to scan their lanyard to get it. Expellable offence if boys/girls caught on wrong floor. There was two rooms on ground floor which could be used for temporary disabilities or any who were non binary (wasn’t as prevalent 8 years ago). Any same sex couples that became known to school staff were split into different houses. You weren’t allowed into the bedroom areas of other houses

Oh and security told them then the grounds were bugged with night vision cameras

They only have sixth form girls and the bedrooms are on the top floor above the housemaster’s accommodation.

The threat of immediate expulsion if boys were found in the girls rooms was enough to keep them out in my day. Girls were allowed in boys’ rooms during the day though.

There was no “mixing” in bedrooms “after a certain time”.

No direct experience but from what I've read if boys try and go into the girls dormitories, the spiral stair cases turn into slides and dump them back unceremoniously into the common room.

Stowe might find bugging grounds difficult! Huge!

They only have sixth form girls and the bedrooms are on the top floor above the housemaster’s accommodation

@LiteralLunatic Marlborough is co-ed throughout.