why so many boys only preps around oxford but only 1 girls prep?

[screamingsiblings]

How does this work demographically? My DC are grown up now, so I'm out of the loop schools wise.
I can think of 7 boys only preps, but only 1 girls prep - when Headington goes co-ed.
Are there so many more boys in Oxfordshire? Do the co-ed preps actually have any boys in them??

girls schools moved to co-ed:
Our Lady's
Manor
Cranford House
Headington prep
Wychwood
which leaves OHS and SHSK as the only girls schools

boys schools moved to co-ed:
Abingdon
which still leaves MCS, New College, Christ Church, Moulsford, Summerfields, Radley

Dragon, Chandlings, Cokethorpe, Teddies, D'Over, St Hugh's, I think have always been co-ed?

Have I missed any?

Moulsford is gradually going co-ed too

You've also missed Cothill, going co-ed from Sept 2025 (very sadly in my view after 150+ years of brilliant focus on- and understanding of- boyhood)

I mentioned it earlier!

Oh yes - they did make a thing of boy education iirc. Do they still do the term in France? We loved the idea of that. (But another place offered everything we wanted.)

Cothill - yes. A real shocker that they are going co ed. Where next? Radley??

Christ church going co-ed.

Slightly further out Bruen Abbey remains boys only

I was a fan of single sex schools for my DC. I guess it's old fashioned now, and doesn't accommodate NB children.

Unfortunately sexism is still alive and well in schooling. Boys are more likely to be sent to private school, and also younger. I know of families where the boys went private the girls state - and in both cases the now adult girls still hold a grudge

We loved Cothill and our boys look back on it huge fondness. What was so special about it was that it was so unashamedly about young boys- how they learn, how they play and how they get along with each other. It looked slightly chaotic but wasn't- the discipline was there but with a light and humourous touch. And although it's not selective on entry, the boys go on to achieve huge amounts academically but generally without taking themselves too seriously. If I'd had daughters I would have wanted a girls' equivalent, although they are harder to find except for boarders, Hanford being the obvious example.
I'm sure Cothill will still be a lovely school once co-Ed, but it's hard to know what its USP will be, other than catering for the wealthy area it sits in.

Godstowe in Bucks is mostly girls. No boys beyond ks1. It’s easily the best option for people who can get there via the M40 or A40. I realise it’s not Oxford though.

Thinking back to the original question, about whether there are more boys than girls in Oxfordshire, the obvious answer is that as more of the boys' preps are predominantly boarding, they draw their pupils from outside the area. We didn't live in Oxfordshire while our sons boarded at Cothill- very few were local. If I think of their friends there they were coming from Scotland, N Yorks, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Norfolk etc.
My nephews at Slummerfields similarly lived in another part of the country altogether. Lots of little Dragons are bussed in from London. The boys generally go to these schools because of the senior schools they are aiming for, not because they are local.