Single sex schools

[TeenTimesTwo]

Help me work through this please.

Nearish to where I live, there is a girls only secondary school. It is very good. There used to be an equivalent boys school that was less good, and it is now co-ed.

I was speaking to a parent who lives in that area the other day. She would like a mixed environment for her DC. But because the girls-only school exists, the other local schools are all about 70:30 boys:girls.

This means, that no one gets a true co-ed secondary education.

So, should I think that the girls school is a good idea, as then girls can be girls etc etc? Or a bad idea because of the inbalance for everyone else, boys and girls, at the other schools?

Maybe there needs to be a decent boys school?

Surely that is the issue, that the boys school is now co-ed, rather than instead remaining a boys school and improving it's standards?

It's a difficult one. AFAIK (this may be out of date) research suggests that girls perform best academically in single-sex schools, boys perform best in genuinely co-ed (50-50) schools and schools with a heavy sex imbalance don't do either sex any good.

If I had a girl, given this, and the fact that sexual assault appears to be endemic in mixed schools, I'd be moving heaven and earth to get her into a single sex school. I have a boy and am relieved that our local schools are all genuinely mixed - but "what do you do about anti-bullying, sex ed including boundaries and consent, and how do you handle sexual assault?" was one of my questions when I went round secondary schools. (We desperately need some steer from central government meaning that teens convicted of sexual assault are the ones removed from a school rather than their victims being forced to move school/be home ed).

WeRise But the impression I have is that many people just didn't want an all boys school. So even improving it wouldn't necessarily have helped?

Though perhaps saying if there is a state all girls there has to be an all boys one too, would at least keep the balance in the co-ed schools?

But I am left wondering whether I think it is a good idea that the all girls school exists, or not. The girls there may benefit, but to the detriment of the girls elsewhere (and the boys too).

Generally, girls do better academically in single sex schools. Boys do better socially in mixed.

I’d make my choices as a parent accordingly .

Most single sex boys schools in the Uk are private. The boys who attend them and their parents are some of the most privileged people in the country. I can’t get worked up about how they might be suffering because girls schools exist.

Many years ago now I was at high school! Went first to a large co-ed until 15, then to an all girl's school.
The all girls school was easy to settle into and I really didn't miss boys. It could be pretty bitchy though. At 6th form it mixed with the all boys school. This was interesting!
Neither of these schools exist any more, both were merged with another local school and all are co-ed.
My DD goes to a co-ed as no schools local to us are single sex.
You have the choice of the schools local to you or you move.

Most single sex boys schools in the Uk are private.

Or grammar. Paired single sex schools - especially if they get together for social events, plays etc - seem to work pretty well.

Unpaired single sex schools, not so much. I'm sceptical as to whether the recent change in the local boys' GS to make its sixth form mixed sex will benefit girls education as a whole.

It could be pretty bitchy though.

I wish women wouldn't use expressions like this. It makes me sad.

My experience of all girls' schools is that they allow girls to flourish. There is certainly no issue of boy-on-girl sexualised bullying and coercion.

Old but talks about exactly this:

www.theguardian.com/education/2007/apr/10/schools.uk

It is sad. Boys are bad for girls and eachother.
Still. Women and girls are not human shields to protect men and boys from each other.

VickyEadie
The girl on girl bullying at this school was unpleasant. As was the bitching. Experiencing it was worse than talking about it now. It was not a nurturing environment.

@im0gen not in London. There are three boys state secondaries within walking distance of us. Two are ‘outstanding’ on OFSTED.

I wouldn’t send any of my DSs to either. One is religious and one is like a prison camp.

I don’t know what the solution is - I haven’t any DGs but if I did I would be happy for them to go to all girl schools - but only if there were boys at home. I don’t think it’s good for either sex to see the opposite sex as ‘other’ and not part of normal life.

The secondaries we looked at

None of the state boys schools I mentioned are grammar either @Errolthedragon. They are very very disciplined and all about stopping boys from straying and getting into gangs. There’s a lot of talk about ‘leadership’ and ‘zero tolerance’. There’s a lot of talk about giving them male role models in communities where there often aren’t any. There’s also a lot of talk about how proud hey are that the boys aren’t allowed to wear coats indoors and get detentions if seen with a coat no idea why that’s so great but sadly I think it might be to do with hoodies.

Privileged it ain’t.

Also I went to a mixed school but the girls were really the worst for bullying

I don’t think it’s good for either sex to see the opposite sex as ‘other’ and not part of normal life.

I agree. I went to an all-girls school, did brilliantly academically, not so well socially even with just girls, and then had quite a shock going to a mixed sixth form. I essentially didn't have any contact beyond the occasional conversation with a boy other than my brother (several years younger) and cousins (not that close) between the ages of 11-16. I understand my parents choice of school, it was probably the right one, but I wish they'd pushed me into more extracurriculars that were mixed.