Mixed or single sex for a girl?

[VoiceofRaisins56]

My DD could get in to a good comp on a sibling place (DS is already there, and likes it). Or a good girls school on a distance place. I cannot decide what to put first on the form. Both Ofsted outstanding. She’d like to be with her brother. I went to a girls’ school and I did well academically. I have difficulty getting my head round the idea of dealing with boys while you’re trying to learn maths. But is my own prejudice colouring my view? Is it better to keep them together if that’s what they want?

My secondary school had a lot of sexualised bullying by some of the boys, which spoiled my experience and I remember that school with no affection.

My dd went to a single sex school - it wasn't problem-free but over all I think my dd came out having had a more positive experience of school than I did.

I think as someone said, for any one person who had a bad time at a particular school, there's probably another person who went there who had a very different experience. You can't really predict how it will turn out - it depends on who your friends become and all sorts of influences.

Personally I'd vote for single sex.

This. We sent both our DD's to single sex, although one chose mixed for sixth form.

Girls do best when they can be themselves and many feel more confident to speak in class without boys present.

DD is currently at a single sex grammar and loves it. She went to Co-Ed primary and was in a class where boys outnumbered girls 3-1. She was desperate to be included by the girls but for some reason didn't "fit". It was her male friendships in her class which got her through. She did not - understandably- want to go to a single sex school. However she was persuaded to- and it has been the best decision for her, which she now readily agrees. She has formed a good group of female friendships - after all there are more girls to choose from, and gets on well with most of the girls in her class. Disruption is less - partly because it's a grammar school and they all want to learn. Yes there are difficulties with girls falling out - but you'll get those in either setting. However the learning environment is more conducive. She still has male interaction, her dad, uncle, brother, her brother's friends, the boys at the different sports clubs she attends. So personally I don't understand the concern about girls in a single sex setting not getting the appropriate social skills. For her it was the best decision.

Maybe speak to her about what she is concerned about in a single sex environment- it might just be the fear of the unknown?

Hope it all works out well for her.

@fedupandstuck The Progress 8 thing worries me. Up until this year, both schools were doing really well, but the mixed comp had the edge and was doing slightly better for both boys and girls. This year, the mixed has gone down to an average P8 of about 0, and the girls there have a worse P8 score than the boys, which never used to be the case. I’m no expert but that must’ve taken some doing, given girls usually seem generally to do better than boys, nationally. The P8 for the all-girls school is in the ‘well above average’ category, and has been thereabouts for years.
DS is a nerdy, young, sweetheart and probably isn’t the person to ask re girls’ experience, though I have tried. He says it’s fine and the school are nice - but what does he actually know about starting your periods at secondary, being afraid to speak up, etc. I’m worried a girl’s experience could be completely different.
Thank you everyone for your comments, I really appreciate it.

It's possible that there was an unusual profile for the girls cohort this last year in the mixed school, which might be something you could work out from the data. But, it really is a stark contrast between a well about average progress 8 score and a below average, negative one.

I'm not a fan of single sex schools, but with that level of different outcome I'd find it hard to justify the mixed school over the single sex one.

We chose a mixed school for our DD and DS.
We wanted them to go to the same school and have the same opportunities.

I think you should making the decision based on the schools itself. Not all mixed and single sex schools are the same.

I also think you need to look at the schools themselves too. All of these statistics about girls doing better than boys.... Its not just as simple as girls schools do better academically. A happy student is going to perform better than someone miserable in their school setting. Worth considering too!

I had a very positive experience in my own girls’ school and although the national picture of girls doing better in single sex schools therefore contributes to my confirmation bias, the evidence is pretty strong (certainly stronger than, for example, the evidence in support of selective schools). Combined with the specific local progress data that you cite I would consider this a very strong case for sending your DD to the girls’ school unless there are very significant practical advantages to having both DC in the same school.