Moving to mixed school

[newchiswickmum]

We are moving into a new area and my dd would be moving from a girl's school to a mixed school. She's a bit concerned as to how she will adjust. She is quite shy around boys and is in year 9.
Any advantages or disadvantages to mixed school and what were your/your children's experiences with the boys

Best choice ever moving to a mixed school! As having boys there prevents girls from being as rude to each other. However just need to be careful who you're friends with.

Ha my daughter is doing the opposite. She's always been at a mixed school and I asked her a couple years ago what was the one thing that would improve her school and she immediately said get rid of the boys! She will be at an all girls sixth form next year.
Your daughter will find her tribe.

@Midlifephoenix

Ha my daughter is doing the opposite. She's always been at a mixed school and I asked her a couple years ago what was the one thing that would improve her school and she immediately said get rid of the boys! She will be at an all girls sixth form next year. Your daughter will find her tribe.

Lolll!!! I hope your daughter enjoys sixth form!!

The boys themselves are not a big issue but there is more apparent gender divisions sometimes- different rules for boys and girls on things like jewellery, shirts tucked in, girls being allowed to leave first because they are perceived to be behaving better, STEM club dominated by boys etc. Things are changing but gender stereotypes seem more apparent than in the girls school. Obviously though it does depend on the school, they are all different and the child, it bothers some children more than others.

My daughter is moving from a all girls school to a mixed school for year 10 in September. She enjoyed her time at the girls school but the mixed school will give her the GCSE options she wants. Good luck hope all works out 🤞

My DD moved from all girls prep to a co-ed prep in yr 6. At first she found the boys very loud in the classroom and physically imposing in the playground. She found concentrating in class quite difficult at first. Within the first couple of weeks she had a 'boyfriend' (that she never spoke to!) and adjusted to being in a mixed environment. Now, in yr 8 she has some good male friends and isn't phased by them at all.

However she doesn't enjoy D.T or Science as much anymore as the boys dominate those lessons, which I thought was just a generalisation about co-ed schools , but sadly is a reality.

When choosing between girls or co-ed for secondary, she swung between the two for a while but opted for co-ed in the end. I do think that she may have done better educationally in single sex but will have a more real world experience at co-ed, I guess we'll never know if that's true re educational attainment but ultimately school isn't just about grades, but maybe I'm saying that to make myself feel better about her choice as I think I would have preferred all girls.

Every child is different though and will thrive in different environments.

DD is at a mixed school. Y7 they all hung around in a large group for about a term and then things slowly divided into the primary school boy / girl split.

She's now slightly further up the school so there are lots of opportuniities for them to work together in sports and clubs in school. They tolerate each other socially now. I'm not really sure on the benefits for girls educationally though. The school are very quite on how many girls take the different A levels offered and I do worry that science A levels are les popular. Whether that is because they are put off by the boys - who knows?

We had the option of all girls or co-ed for dd, and she was adamant that she preferred the mixed environment. No regrets here. She has a good mix of boys and girls in her friendship group and is equally comfortable around both. She is far less obsessed with the idea of boyfriends than her friends who went to the all girls school. And she will be doing maths and science a-levels so learning alongside the boys hasn't put her off.