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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Boys to girls ratio

37 replies

Tailfeather · 21/04/2023 18:24

My son's year at school has 4 girls and 15 boys!! The girl mums are not happy and thinking about moving them. So I'm thinking of moving my son too as I don't want him to be in an all-boy year group.

Would you be upset if your daughter was surrounded by so many girls? I had a boy-heavy year at school and was very content.

OP posts:

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TeenDivided · 21/04/2023 18:29

DD had 6 boys and 21 girls for most of primary.
Some other boys came and left as they didn't like the lack of boys.

Original poster

Tailfeather · 21/04/2023 18:32

Sorry - I obviously meant if your DD was surrounded by so many boys!

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Original poster

Tailfeather · 21/04/2023 18:33

@TeenDivided Funny how extremely unbalanced it can be!

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Comedycook · 21/04/2023 18:34

My DD was in a boy heavy class during primary school....21 boys, 9 girls. It was absolutely awful. It had a very negative effect on my dds primary school experience.

Comedycook · 21/04/2023 18:35

She goes to a single sex secondary school now and is so much happier

Original poster

Tailfeather · 21/04/2023 18:36

Sorry to hear that @Comedycook

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Original poster

Tailfeather · 21/04/2023 18:36

@Comedycook Glad she's happier now!

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DelurkingAJ · 21/04/2023 18:37

Depends. I went to a prep school and there were 7 girls and 16 boys in my class and it was awful. But I went to 6th form in a school that was all boys to 16 and there were 40 girls to 160 boys in my year. My further maths set was 12 boys and me. It was fine and dandy. At Primary it would depend how it was handled…some parents can be really strange about boy-girl friendships and I wouldn’t want my child limited by a tiny group dynamic

Sandysandwich · 21/04/2023 18:39

My school was like that, I was one of 4 girls with 28 boys. Our toilets were really clean as hardly anyone one used then and the pe changing rooms had a lot of space. It was mostly fine but I would have preferred more of a balance.

My childrens school is 4 form entry so they can share out the children a bit better so there is a pretty even split in most classes. Tbh knowing what my school was like I might have moved my daughter if she was in an massive boy majority class

hairdresserbreakup · 21/04/2023 18:39

Oh OP you have started (yet another) boy-bashing thread. Yay.

Comedycook · 21/04/2023 18:40

Thank you @Tailfeather

THe thing is in the earlier primary years it's probably not so important but towards the end of primary, you find girls and boys become more segregated in their friendships.

AP5Diva · 21/04/2023 18:41

I wouldn’t care. Boys and girls are both potential friends.

TeenDivided · 21/04/2023 18:42

One advantage to being unbalanced is you may avoid the boyfriend-girlfriend nonsense in y5/y6 which can occur especially if there are girls with older sisters.

Comedycook · 21/04/2023 18:44

AP5Diva · 21/04/2023 18:41

I wouldn’t care. Boys and girls are both potential friends.

Maybe When they're in reception and year 1...but by the time they're in year 5/6, things become quite different and they generally want same sex friendships.

Original poster

Tailfeather · 21/04/2023 18:47

@hairdresserbreakup Not really. I was in a very boy-heavy group and enjoyed it. When it evened out in senior school I felt it got very competitive and bitchy with more pressure on clothes and make up. Boys tend to be a bit more black and white. What I don't want is my son to be in an all boy year group.

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Floralnomad · 21/04/2023 18:47

I would move if it were my daughter , it’s such a small pool for friends and I know boys and girls can be good friends but often the boys don’t want to play with girls IME .

WheelsUp · 21/04/2023 18:52

Is it one form entry ?
DD was in a class that was 7 girls and 23 boys when she was in year 2 but the school wasn't one form entry so they could mix the classes. It was a little better in year 3 as the school was in London so turnover was high but it's not ideal from a social perspective.

hairdresserbreakup · 21/04/2023 18:54

Tailfeather · 21/04/2023 18:47

Sorry, I wasn't very clear. I know you weren't boy-bashing, I just meant others have seen it as an opportunity to do so.

PuttingDownRoots · 21/04/2023 19:05

DD1s class got very uneven at one point... 6 girls to 20 boys. No choice though, it was a very rural school. It was the same kids at swimming and youth club... everywhere! The year below was boy heavy too.

The village Rainbow group was very popular for this reason... it was the only place they weren't drowned out.

CaptainMyCaptain · 21/04/2023 19:07

I am a retired Reception teacher and the best class I ever had was 19 boys and 5 girls. They really gelled.

cigarettesNalcohol · 21/04/2023 19:15

My husband was one of 7 boys in his year in his very small village primary school - he said it was great as he got lots of positive attention from the girls

RhinestoneCowgirl · 21/04/2023 19:18

What year is it? Lots of mixed sex friendships lower down in primary school IME, then less so when they get to KS2. DD had great friendships with boys in reception and y1. Is it one form entry? Our primary was four form and used to mix up the classes each year to adjust boy/girl balance, children with SEN etc.

Letsallgotothebeach · 21/04/2023 19:25

I work in a primary class with 15 boys and 5 girls. Being outnumbered by the boys doesn't seem to be an issue, it's the fact that they only have 5 other girls to choose from to be their friends. If you have some big or difficult characters in the girl group then it can be problematic. I personally wouldn't keep my daughter in a class with that dynamic.

Heckythump1 · 21/04/2023 20:25

My Daughters class is 11 girls and 19 boys, so quite uneven, the other Y2 class is move evenly split. I keep thinking they will mix the classes up to even it out, but they've stayed in the same classes since reception so far.
Doesn't really seem to make a lot of difference though, they're a really lovely class.

YellowGreenBlue · 21/04/2023 20:30

My DS's primary school class was boy heavy - 21/22 boys and 8/9 girls. It was a really lovely class.

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