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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

All girls schools - pros and cons

36 replies

curlew · 11/10/2006 21:24

I would never have considered a single sex secondary school for my dd - until we went to visit one that seems to be a perfect "fit" for her. What do people think? Is a school of a 1000 adolescent girls a good place to spend your formative years?

OP posts:

littleshebear · 11/10/2006 22:38

I don't know, tbh.

My dd1 has just started an all girls school, though, and loves it, so far. The absence of boys is a big plus for her, as she has two brothers and gets a bit sick of them. I suppose she gets enough exposure to boys, though! Perhaps it would be a bit weird if you had no brothers, or didn't mix with boys outside school?

Her school is a grammar school and there are no mixed grammars in the area, though, so I didn't really have a choice of a mixed school - they could have gone to the catholic single sex grammars,though. My son goes to the boys school, and he likes it too. I can't say I have noticed any problems with either of them from going to a single sex school -early days with my daughter, of course. I think your child's happiness probably depends more on the school suiting them than whether it's mixed.Hopefully someone will come along who's a few years down the line to give you some advice.

CrocodileKate · 11/10/2006 22:44

I went to an all girls and hated it. Some of the girls loved it. Not much help but it will suite some and not others.
Did notice a stronger desire in a lot of the girls to gravitate towards boys out of school though.

Plibble · 11/10/2006 23:39

I went to a girls' school. Positives were that there was no real pressure re looks (we all looked grim in the uniform), no sex during term time and, as we weren't trying to impress boys it was ok to get good grades.

A downside is that some girls reacted by behaving like floozies in the holidays or in the 1st year of uni.

I think if the school is a good fit and your daughter will have male friends outside of school (so she doesn't end up scared of boys) then it could be a good move. What does your daughter think?

figroll · 12/10/2006 09:35

I went to an all girls grammar and both of my dds do too. My dds are both well adjusted and don't hanker after the lads (although the youngest has only just started, so there is plenty of time yet!). My older dd though has said that there is a small group of girls in her class who are totally desperate!! A bunch of nymphomaniacs - now these are just a small group (she is year 10) and not the majority of the class. However, as I have never experienced anything but single sex schools, I wondered if you got girls like this in mixed schools, or is it purely an all girls phenomena.

The school that they go to has some mixed activities, but is mostly separate - they see boys in the morning, evening and at lunch. Just interested really.

shewhoneverdusts · 12/10/2006 09:49

dd goes to an all girls secondary and is now in yr9. Academically it is perfect for her, however, the bitchiness and competitiveness, over grades and clothing and money and everything else is awful. I personally think boys would perhaps diffuse some of the nastiness.

Cappuccino · 12/10/2006 09:51

girls are just bloody vile wherever you put her

cut her hair short and get her into the boys'

piglit · 12/10/2006 09:52

I went to an all girls school and loved it. We socialised with boys' schools, no real bitching and academically and from a sporting point of view the school was brilliant.

figroll · 12/10/2006 09:53

I don't know if it would though, because we had quite a bit of this at my dds primary school. I wonder if it exists anyway, but it is blamed on the single sex school because we don't know what else to blame it on.

My dds haven't experienced this nastiness at their school - I suppose it just depends on the children and their personalities? I am guessing here, but it is quite interesting.

figroll · 12/10/2006 09:58

SWND, In fact, my friend's daughter goes to a mixed school and she suffers from terrible bitchiness, that made my friend want to send her to a different school. So it is just the kids she mixes with probably.

acnebrideofFrankenstein · 12/10/2006 10:07

went to a girls' grammar. a lot depends on the year you are in IMO, my year was quite 'young', religious and sweet, no bitching at all. my sister's year was horrible (not her) and she got bullied a lot.

positives are I do remember the huge sense of relief at not having boys around when I went there, and a majority of my sixth form did 2 science A-levels, which might or might not have been the same at a coeducational school. But i couldn't talk to boys for a long time and still don't really have male friends - that might have been the same, tbh, as i don't have a brother close in age.

If it's right for her - do it. If she has close brothers I wouldn't worry, but if not, consider if she could join a ooed club of some kind.

figroll · 12/10/2006 10:20

I had lots of friends who were boys when I was younger and I went to an all girls school. I am interested in the nymphomaniac thing really, as I know that there are some who are truly mad in my dds class. However, she is not interested in boys at all yet and thinks they are totally crazy!

eidsvold · 12/10/2006 10:32

the educational research suggests that girls do better academically in single sex schools than boys whereas boys tend to do better in mixed schools.

PhantomCAM · 12/10/2006 10:36

curlew, is it state or private, am assuming state because of the size.

I would be slightly concerned at the size if it is private - I am going to look at a co-ed private that is that size but tbh that factor does concern me.

lucycat · 12/10/2006 10:39

major pro - no smelly boys toilets.

shewhoneverdusts · 12/10/2006 16:53

figroll, you are right, it is the group of girls she has been put with. They are an accelerated group who think they are better than everyone else and they are smug when they get a good grade and evil when someone gets better than them and they then accuse the other person of cheating etc. I HATE THEM. I think they are some of the nastiest, self opinionated little bitches I have ever met. They also have no loyalty whatsoever to their 'friends', and will dump them in town and go off with someone else if they feel like it. AAAAAARGH, sorry, I hate secondary school.

Original poster

curlew · 12/10/2006 20:19

My dd is 10 and therefore thinks all boys with he possible exception of her little brother are nasty smelly wastes of space. However, I am aware that this will change - and very soon!

It's a grammar school with an excellent reputation - but somebody told me today that theire is a signigficant number of girls with anorexia. BUT i suppose if you look at 1000 high achiewving girls in any context there will be that problem.

Don't suppose anyone here went to or knows about Simon Langton Girls did they/do they?

OP posts:

HallgerdaLongcloak · 13/10/2006 08:14

If you're concerned about anorexia levels in the school, why not ask the school about their pastoral care and what action they are taking to prevent eating disorders among their pupils.

hulababy · 13/10/2006 08:20

DD has just started at an all girl's school and will be in single sex education until she is 18. I have no problems with that at all. We know a fair few boys out side of school, so it's not as if boys are alien too her.

Know of a few people who have been to ingle sex schools - all pretty normal.

edam · 13/10/2006 08:24

I went to a girls' school at 14. Loved it. Such a relief - no horrible boys thinking it was funny to do huge farts in lessons (or any other time), harassing us, poking us with rulers, disrupting lessons. But that could have been the shitty comp I went to aged 12 and 13.

Didn't notice any bitchiness or nymphomania. I think the latter is a myth put about by people who are hostile to girls' schools anyway (including teenage boys at the school across the road - because they were jealous we didn't need them, I think). I only had a couple of male friends outside school but have never had a problem dealing with men in adult life and nor have my friends.

We did have social events organised by the school with nearby boys' schools but I thought the boys were pretty pathetic, tbh - that could be a public school thing, though. I quite like public school-educated men as an adult, they usually have very good manners. But not as teenagers!

edam · 13/10/2006 08:25

Hula, agree your dd will be fine, given I went to the high school she will!

edam · 13/10/2006 08:26

But don't make her wear that horrid tartan kilt, get her the plain one (assuming the uniform hasn't changed, was the same last time I was up there).

hulababy · 13/10/2006 08:27

Really? Excellent to hear it's good

DD won't start there for a few years yet, but she is currently loving her new school. And pretty much all the girls, with one or two exceptions, go onto the same high school afterwards.

hulababy · 13/10/2006 08:28

Didn't know there was a choice! Was in local press last week, someting to do with their uniform. All had the kilt skirt which is so short!!!

edam · 13/10/2006 08:33

It was mid-calves when I was there but some people rolled it up at the waist to shorten it. But you could definitely get a plain kilt as an alternative to tartan. Think they chose the uniform to make us as unattractive as possible to the opposite sex.

All my friends who had come from your dd's schoolm (which was a high percentage of the class) really enjoyed it and were very nice.

hulababy · 13/10/2006 08:35

Good to hear

I'll have to look into the high school uniform and see if it has changed. At the moment the girls seem to have those skirts really short!

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