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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.

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bellinisurge · 21/04/2023 20:31

My DD's primary was 9 girls and 19 boys

Okunevo · 21/04/2023 20:39

What is the balance in the class? If only 19 in the year group is this combined with another year in one or two classes? I assume with such a small year group they also socialise with the year above or below?

Okunevo · 21/04/2023 20:42

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.

I don't understand why some schools don't mix and balance classes each year.

Iwasafool · 21/04/2023 20:47

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.

Yes I found that. In a small group if you don't fit with the dominant girl you are in a very difficult situation.

Koalar · 21/04/2023 20:51

I think whether this is ok or not depends on the class and the school. My DD is in y6 in a tiny school and has been the only girl in her year on and off throughout primary (there have been other girls who have come and gone but mostly it’s been just her). Pps are right that when they get to y4-5 they don’t mix so much with the opposite sex, but I think the situation for my dd has been really good for her. She has had to be flexible in who she plays with and not just stick to one group of friends. Sometimes she plays with friends in the year below and sometimes she plays with the boys. It seems natural to me that kids play across the age range and play with the opposite sex, as they would have in the past in villages.

KnickerlessParsons · 21/04/2023 21:15

MargaretThursday · 22/04/2023 13:24

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.

My dd1 was and it was a lovely class.
Dd2 was in the opposite and it was definitely worse. (both infant schools)

A lot depends on the personalities and the spread.
Dd1's class were pretty much all very calm, "nice" children and there were very few spats at all between them.
Dd2's class had a lot of girls who were strong-minded and jostling for the top dog position, and boys who were really struggling, including one with extreme behavioural issues (left for a special school in year 2. He was a lovely lad a lot of the time, but really struggled at times). Obviously that wasn't them all, but a good proportion.

What would worry me is if the other girl parents are saying that they'll move them, then your dd could be left as the only one, which I don't think would be ultimately good.

Heckythump1 · 22/04/2023 18:07

Okunevo · 21/04/2023 20:42

I don't understand why some schools don't mix and balance classes each year.

Show quote history

I know in y1 they didn't mix them because of covid, but I really thought they would have done for Y2, maybe they will for Y3!

lanthanum · 22/04/2023 20:33

I came across a case where a village school had a year 6 class with no girls. I think the next village over had a girl-heavy class. I guess there came a point where it got so imbalanced that the parents pulled the remaining girls out.
In a one form entry school, I guess the only thing you could consider doing is having mixed year 5/6 classes, but that would make other things harder.

DD's class was boy-heavy, but the same was true in one of the other two classes, so even rebalancing between classes wouldn't have completely solved the problem.

Ionacat · 24/04/2023 11:54

My DD started in year R with a year group of 60 - 2 x classes with 6 girls in each. It gradually get more balanced as there was a bit of movement, but the girls all bonded together and there was no nastiness or bullying throughout their entire time at the school. It was a really lovely and supportive year group who were known for being inclusive. - no cliques! Year groups can vary and although the boy/girl ratio is one part of it, there are so many other factors, I would certainly give it a go to start.

Readinstead · 25/04/2023 01:47

In dgs1's year 5 class it is currently 10 girls and 21 boys (originally 8 girls and 22 boys). The boys tend to play together, as per my dgs and from chatting to other parents it appears that the girls have split into 3-4 small groups that have been mostly stable since covid.
Watching the Christmas play this year I realised that yr 6 is the opposite, from the programme, they have 6 boys and 26 girls.
The school is Catholic and heavily oversubscribed with any places for non Catholic children without siblings ie distance criteria going to children living less than 0.1 miles from school, from LA published data. I don't think many parents give up places regardless of the boy/girl mix.

Gruf · 25/04/2023 02:07

It’s not ideal but at least the dynamics will be more straight forward and open. Probably. Boy heavy groups I know have been more physical when younger then calmed down, while the girl heavy groups have been more studious generally with slowly increasing complex dynamics undercurrents. There are always many boys who are not physical and many girls who don’t get involved in all the discrete unkind stuff.

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