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Education

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Original poster

Considering a girls school: your pros and cons please?

47 replies

FrenchGirl · 23/02/2005 09:22

Dd is in year 1, only 11 children in her class, with 8 boys and 3 girls. Dd is very girly, has male friends but would love to have more girl friends. We have invited the girls to play but have never had an invite back yet..... Her best girl friend has moved.
Besides, dd is top of the class academically, loves arty stuff (especially drama), and is not good at sports. Her current school is VERY sporty (secondary school is a top rugby players recruiting school and has army links - gulp), and doesn't value brains as much as I'd like.
I used to be against single sex schools, but have had to think again as several friends have girls at all girls school and are delighted. Dd has visited one and loved it.
So we're considering moving dd to a very good girls school either next year or the year after.
What's your opinion or experience of girls school please????

OP posts:

lockets · 23/02/2005 10:47

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Original poster

FrenchGirl · 23/02/2005 10:48

phew Issymum, that's a relief!!

foxinsocks !!! Apparently the mums at Issymum's old school are much more pleasant than the ones at dd's current school (more money than sense....)

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slug · 23/02/2005 10:50

Academically girls tend to do much better in all girl schools, whereas boys tend to achieve best in mixed schools, so yo can't win really.

Most of the girls I went to primary school with went on to single sex (Catholic) secondary schools. While most of them went on to do fairly well in exams, I remember being a bit disturbed by their attitudes to men. The competition for who chould have the oldest boyfriend (40+ in one instance) being a case in point. Now how much of this was a result of an all girls environment or a Catholic school is open to interpretation, but as long as you are happy with your daughter's social contacts outside school, there is good research to suggest that she will probably achieve better in academic terms if you send her to a single sex school.

pabla · 23/02/2005 10:52

I went to all girls schools all the way through - that was the norm in the town where I grew up (not in the UK). So I never knew anything different and was actually a bit surprised when looking at schools for my dd that the only all girls schools in this country seem to be private (at infant/junior level). My dd goes to a mixed school but right from the start the boys and girls seemed to segregate themselves at playtime and rarely play togehter. Obviously they work in mixed groups in the class but my daughter doesn't really have any friends who are boys (apart from one she has known since a baby.)

My dd will more than likely go to an all girls secondary school, mainly because our local one gets very good results and most of the girls from her school will go there so she will move on with her friends.

Regarding moving on to Uni....I did an engineering degree and one thing I did find was that the boys on the course had an advantage because many of them had done technical drawing, which wasn't offered at my school and also were more computer literate, (This was many years ago when computers were just being introduced in schools!) I also was very hesitant about asking questions during lectures, etc, whereas I wasn't like that at school. That might be more to do with my personality though - I am fairly shy with large groups of people I don't know well.

I think you just need to consider your own daughter's personality and interests and the curriculam ofered at the school your are considering to decide if it would work for her.

Pamina3 · 23/02/2005 11:59

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stickynote · 23/02/2005 12:07

I have three sisters and went to a mixed primary and then an all girls grammer school. I would say if you are considering all girls schooling all the way through and your dd doesn't have any brothers that I would find her a mixed out of school activity, just to help her form friendships with boys as well IYSWIM.

marialuisa · 23/02/2005 12:11

So pamina, you prove my point! There are perfectly nice people who come out of those schools

Original poster

FrenchGirl · 23/02/2005 12:18

That's a good idea stickynote, thank you (although absolutely no idea at this point what activity she could do that boys would be into as well!!)

OP posts:

marialuisa · 23/02/2005 12:19

How about judo or karate?

Ameriscot2005 · 23/02/2005 12:21

I went to an all-girls school, and I can safely say that none of us had any problems making friends with boys. Some were a bit too friendly .

Original poster

FrenchGirl · 23/02/2005 12:27

Ameriscot2005 !!!!
marialuisa, I think dd might think I have gone mad if I took her to one of these, but they would be great for her actually, will keep it in mind.

OP posts:

iota · 23/02/2005 12:30

any sort of club - art, music, ice-skating, football,trampolining, gym, swimming whatever she likes doing

iota · 23/02/2005 12:31

tennis

gscrym · 23/02/2005 12:42

I'm went to a mixed state secondery and worked at an all girls independent school. My observations about the same sex school was that it seemed to be biased towards the arts. The boys school got a lot more funding towards science and tchnical subjects. Our science and technical departments were seriously underfunded unless it was an area also used by the boys school.
There were a lot of extra curricular activities and organised trips. The class sizes in the science department didn't seem any smaller than state schools. It may have changed, (12 years since I worked there) but as the school was independent, it wasn't bound by national legislation as far as class sizes went.
Many of the girls felt under pressure to go to OxBridge universities as it looks good on the information booklets if they have high attendence. By the same token, most of the girls seemed happy in the enviroment but I only saw it from a staff point of view.
These schools usually have open days so try to find out when they are and pop along. I'm sure whatever decision you make, your DD will get a good education.

lucysmum · 23/02/2005 12:44

Interesting comment re GDST schools. I went to one in Norwich and it suited me well (quite academic) and would certainly have considered them for DDs except there isn't one where we live. But that was 20 years ago....My dd has just started at a single sex school (reception) and is doing fine, but I do accept that it may not be right for everyone when they are older. I know some people say these schools can be very bitchy and competitive.

Original poster

FrenchGirl · 23/02/2005 13:32

any more?

OP posts:

zubb · 23/02/2005 13:39

Like stickynote I went to a mixed primary then onto a single sex secondary - its quite normal in West Kent. I loved it, didn't have the 'bitchy' atmosphere that I was worried about, but like most it was linked to a boys school so there was interaction
More importantly I had outside interests that I kept from primary school, so knew a lot of people that weren't at the same school as me - and spent weekends mainly with boys!

Stilltrue · 23/02/2005 17:14

Marialuisa, there's a GDST school near us which might be an option for dd in the future. You've made me think now, because obviously the quality of the "end product" is crucial. Did you come across girls from all the schools or just some?

serenity · 23/02/2005 19:28

I went to a GDST school, and I did very well academically but my social skills sucked. I chose to leave at 16 to go to a mixed 6th Form college as I felt it would be a better introduction to real life IYSWIM

I think I did well because of the size of the school (300 pupils) rather than the fact it was single sex, although I do think it is less distracting than a mixed school.

Out of our local secondary schools I think DSs will be going to a boys school, so by default DD will go to a girls school (there are some good ones), but now that there is no assisted place scheme she won't be going to a GDST school.

Ameriscot2005 · 24/02/2005 08:18

Assisted Places Scheme - under the new Charities Act, independent schools have to make some places available to children in the community who could benefit from their school, but whose parents can't afford it. It sounds pretty much like the old Assisted Places Scheme to me.

marialuisa · 24/02/2005 08:34

Stilltrue-I came across girls from a few of the schools, those in: Cardiff, Liverpool, Birkenhead, Bath, Shrewsbury, Oxford, Brighton,Portsmouth.
As I said before, in fairness there are over 20 schools and I was dealing with groups of 10 12-14, 14-16 and 16-18 year olds with no teaching staff present but "in school". The Cardiff experience was particularly bad but perhaps that was because they contrasted so unpleasantly with the kids from a "failing school" serving a very poor, ethnically diverse area (had jokes made to me before I went in about taking a bullet proof vest and taking a knife of my own). Perhaps in different circumstances the girls would have come across better, it's hard to say. At the end of the day, every school turns out some s**ts and some lovely people, doesn't it?

LIZS · 24/02/2005 09:08

I went to the Brighton G(P)DST one many years ago (iirc I'm not the only MN alumnus) and then it included a reasonable diversity of income, pupils form abroad, social status etc but was academic. It suited me but for those who were less academically inclined, but still way above the national average (bearing in mind it was a selective entry) I felt they were let down as their strengths were not as valued. Class sizes were between 25-30 so it wasn't as if you benefitted much there either and I agree about disproportionate number of male staff and spinsters. Socially it was joined up with Brighton College and Lancing for exchange trips and choral projects for example, but things tended to get a bit out of control ! Wonder if it changed.....

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