All Girls' Secondary Schools? Opinions please

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We are in the process of considering which secondary school to choose for our daughter. We have the option of an all girls' school, or a mixed school. Both ofsted outstanding, both get great results and are highly thought of. After viewing both I'm surprised to think I like the girls' school best but I've always thought I wouldnt want a single sex school for her. I'd love to hear other people experiences of all girls' schools as parents or pupils. Thanks in advance

I'm going through this agonising decision right now. DD is sporty but very shy, bookish, not into pop music or fashion (but Minecraft!). All her friends are going to the local co Ed comp which is very good. We are considering smaller, nurturing girls schools but a big part of me (who went to an all girls school) feels it is not real life and I don't want her to feel awkward around boys - from reception she has mainly played with the boys as just doesn't 'get' the girls and their squabbles ) her words).

"59% of girls and young women aged 13-21 said in 2014 that they had faced some form of sexual harassment at school or college in the past year" (per the link upthread.

Given that most girls are in a co-ed situation, I take it the stats reflect, mostly, co-ed. I wonder what the stat would be in girls schools?

Also, upthread, there is a comment that no one ever posts evidence supporting the "girls do better in single sex schools" case. Many discussions on here addressing the topic with links to research and evidence ...

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/education/2250321-Single-sex-debate-again

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/education/2227403-Girls-school-alumni-wages

I've said many times how much I hated being at a girls' school but I think it depends on the individual school and the child. I know my brother loved his school.

I would check what is actually taught though. My school days were pre national curriculum so we did lots of sewing and cooking and no technical drawing, woodwork etc - the things that are now resistant materials.

catslife It's not a myth. Girls at single sex schools are 2.5 times more likely to study STEM subjects than girls at mixed schools.

MN, I still object to the MN orthodoxy that ALL girls do better in single sex schools.

It is about finding the right school for a child. My DD thrived in a co-ed environment and is well prepared for the next step in her education. The inference from some posters that anyone choosing co-ed is putting their child's education at risk, or somehow reducing their chances of taking STEM subjects, is plain wrong. We know girls (and boys) who were seriouly unhappy in an all-girls environment, and FWIW DD happily took 5 STEM subjects at A level without a moments hesitation despite classes inevitably being boy dominated.

If you have a school system where a large proportion of selective schools, for residual heritage reasons, are single sex, you cannot draw the conclusion that "girls do better in single sex".

Would be interesting to compare STEM takeup with countries where mixed is the norm. France, Germany, Scandinavian countries.

Two of my dds go to a co-ed school, but are taught in single sex classes until year 10, when GCSE options are mixed - although core subjects remain single sex. They are very different girls but are both very happy at school.

DD1 (now in year 11) did admit to finding it a little strange when she first went into mixed classes, though, despite having attended a mixed primary school.

You cannot compare STEM take up between France and the U.K. and conclude that mixed schooling drives better STEM take up by girls because France has a menu school leaving diploma whereas the UK has an a la care system. Bright French DC are highly incentivized to choose Bac S (maths and science concentration) because it is the most academic and leaves more doors open for all HE options.

A la carte

Needmoresleep
"MN, I still object to the MN orthodoxy that ALL girls do better in single sex schools."

Of course. The statistics are just reflecting the overall trend. Within the stats there will be plenty of girls doing well in co-ed settings. On top of that, the trend does not mean there is a right solution for all girls, including yours/mine.

But when I see evidence like all the evidence shown (which, by the way, is not all about selective schools - there are state girls schools too), I have to question why the trend exists (as do the academics and researchers). The theories and conclusions often return to a core theme of adolescence being a difficult time of growth and taking away certain stresses allows for enhanced outcomes, i.e. take boys out of the equation in the classroom.

Pacificocean are you in the UK.
Lots of evidence in this link: webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090108131525/http:/dcsf.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/rtp01-07.pdf

The main findings of this report are that the evidence for single-sex schooling and STEM is fairly inconclusive as this effect cannot be taken in isolation.

Is this a maintained school or independent? If it's maintained, bear in mind that your choices may be limited. In our area there's a very successful and therefore very popular all girls' school, and if you don't have a sibling there or live in the right area you haven't a hope of getting in.

the teachers were ineffective drips by and large and just stuck their fingers in their ears and looked the other way

I suffered that too, but mine was a mixed school, so it's just down to crap teachers rather than whether you went to a single or mixed sex school!

Hi catslife. Yes, I'm in the UK.

Here's a link to the research I was referring to. I apologise, I mis-remembered the stat as applying to all STEM subjects, whereas in fact it's just physics. Still shocking though!

www.iop.org/education/teacher/support/girls_physics/file_58196.pdf

I go to an all girls' school and am grateful I do. I find it's quite liberating and freeing, at my school girls are free to be who they want, whilst there is a "popular" crowd (can't think of any other way to phrase that) I've not been aware of any bullying, many girls aren't interested in make up or obsessed with boys or anything like that, don't have to worry about conforming to an ideal of femininity whilst at school, also it's interesting that Maths is the most taken A Level subject and lots of girls do sciences and quite a few do computing. It's not for everyone but I would definitely recommend it, especially if you and your daughter already like the feel of the school.

I always hate how these discussions have loads of posters claiming that girls are bitches and nasty to one another etc. We never get rhetoric like that about boys and it just seems to be a standard line put out there that everyone assumes is true. Actually women, on the while, have far more friendships than men and closer stronger friendships too. So clearly, that cliche is just that. Yes some children and teens are nasty to one another but it's not endemic to girls and definitely not girls' school.

MalcolmTuckersEyebrows

If it wasn't for the fact my old school has amalgamated with a boys school I'd wonder if we went to the same one.

I came out with a string of qualifications, zero self esteem and had no idea I could talk to a male, let alone attempt it.

The papers last week were full of articles about sexual harassment in mixed schools. I asked my son (22) if he was aware of this and said yes, on reflection he could see now that girls faced a constant barrage of innuendo, comments about their bodies and speculation about their sexual experience from boys. On that basis alone, I would choose single sex schools for girls.

It went on when I was a girl too flamingnoravera. Looking back it wasn't all boys, but a vocal minority who got a lot of attention and kudos for doing it. I imagine the boys who weren't behaving like this would have been almost as relieved as the girls to see the ring leaders reigned in. I am sorry to hear that this hasn't changed in 25 years.