All girls from yr 7 or yr 9?

[Terribletiming]

Looking to send dd all girls boarding for senior school. Currently at a co-ed prep that goes to yr 8 so I’d always assumed she would remain there and move for yr 9, as boarding would be easier at 13 than 11. But .... having watched lots of virtual open day films recently and hearing more of the benefits of all girls schools, I’m worried that leaving her co-ed until yr 8 may wipe out some of those benefits. I want her to be able to study any subject she likes without any preconceptions or boys around to curtail her enthusiasm or aspirations.

Do you think it would make a difference to move to all girls at yr 7? before hopefully teenage self consciousness kicks in?

Increasing numbers of girls now join boarding school at 11 instead of 13. In fact, I can only think of co-Ed schools and all boys schools that only start from 13 these days.

All the “big name” girls boarding schools now have their main intake at 11. They have lots of girls join at 13 still, but you should check just how many. If you’re one of 5 new girls it might be quite hard to integrate into existing friendship groups. You also find that sports A teams are fairly well established by the time they reach 13 so if you have a sporty daughter then getting into the team might be harder.

I know at our prep, the great majority of girls were very much ready to move on at 11. They had had enough of the silly behaviour of the boys both in class and at break and needed a change. The difference in maturity levels between the sexes at that age is, generally speaking, very large and is the reason why more boys stay onto Y8 than girls.

If your current prep has lots of girls staying on and you are looking at schools with big 13+ intakes then I don’t think it matters hugely. If lots of the girls leave then you may well find her in a boy heavy environment.

How old is your DD now? Does she have a preference?

At the schools you are considering is there a big year 9 intake?

What are the numbers like at your prep for year 7 and 8? What is the boy/girl split?

Does your prep do any boarding? Could she have some taster nights (assuming she is year 4/5/6)?

I would strongly consider a year 7 start at her senior school, especially if the big intake is at 11.

However, if your daughter is happy at her prep, lots of girls stay for year 7/8, and you are not sure if she is ready for boarding then obviously it's probably better to leave her there!

Separate to the question of the senior school, does her prep stretch year 7/8s well? Some preps are very cosy for younger children and then a bit stifling for the last year or two. So if she is at a small, cosy prep she may be itching to move on for year 7 anyway.

Thanks for the responses. Confirming what I had started to think. Our local girls options aren’t the ideal though, so had really been hoping we could hold off on boarding until yr 9, not sure dd will be up for boarding from yr 7 as doesn’t feel that far away. Maybe once we can actually visit some schools in person she’ll be excited about it and be ready to consider it from yr 7.

Girls only or co Ed aside, start them at the first entry point for the reasons a pp mentions - friendships are established and sports teams/activities. It's so much harder to break in at a later point (that includes sixth form in my experience). You have to do so much more to prove your ability when there's an existing group, fairness doesn't really come into the equation.

A lot of the girls boarding schools we looked at offer day places, weekly and flexi boarding now for that very reason @Terribletiming. Even Wycombe Abbey now has a large number of open weekends where girls can go home after Saturday commitments - and an awful lot do.

My Y7 DD boards Monday through to Thursday night and it is working extremely well. Four nights is just enough for me, although I think she would much prefer to be a full boarder!!

It is worth looking at just how flexible the boarding is at the schools you are interested in as you might be surprised. I think many schools are adapting as parents want more home - school balance. It’s a good way of breaking the whole family into life away from home. Although, that obviously doesn’t work if you need full boarding.....

Sunday to Thursday boarding might work well for us if on offer. I will email the schools we’re interested in. Need to spend some time prepping dd for boarding at 11, feel like it might be a big leap for her.

Is your DD currently in year 6?