Would a move back to single sex education help our girls?

[BalletBunting]

I've been meditating on this recently - particularly seeing reports of the shocking levels of sexual harassment girls experience at school, as well as seeing the levels of gender stereotyping both my DC (one of each) have experienced since they were born. It made me wonder whether a move back to more single sex schools (for secondary at least) could actually have a positive effect on children of both sexes (and girls in particular)

Less sexual harassment, less stereotyping and as I understand the research shows that children do better in single sex environments, where they don't feel they need to 'perform' for the opposite sex. It also means that difficulties of puberty including hormones, menstruation etc can be dealt with in what might feel like a more safe environment.
Thoughts?

And as someone who attended an all girls school and knows lots of women there are plenty who made perfectly responsible relationship choices. Just like there are plenty women who attended mixed sex schools who’ve made appalling relationship decisions.

How strange to think girls who go to single sex schools can’t form healthy relationships with boys. I went to a girls boarding school, I knew plenty of boys despite this, met my future husband at 17 and still together 30 years later!! I absolutely loved going to an all girls school- secondary only. It’s just one stage of my life and I got to spend it predominantly with other females. It was awesome!

I had very, very limited opportunities to form friendships with boys and grew up with no clue how to relate to them. Thankfully I got out and went to a mixed sex sixth form.

I went to a mixed sex school but I didn’t like boys while I was at school, other than my dad I didn’t have any males in my life and I really didn’t know how to speak to them. So being in a mixed sex school didn’t help me interact with them.

No idea about boys" is not good in my opinion.

You’ve misunderstood this comment. I meant I have no idea if single sex education was better for boys than mixed.

Aaah! Yes. Just re-read it!

Have the people thinking that single sex schools free you from the male gaze been to a single sex school as a pupil? Or is this self congratulation on the basis of sending DDs to girls schools?

While my all girls' school freed us from the male gaze during lessons, it made us the intense object of it in other situations - cross country running in a gym skirt passing through a long section of land cm from the local small town and then A road, for example.

Mine was a boarding school - there was a tradition of girls parading like cattle at a specific place on the edge of the school grounds for local boys who'd pick a girl out like a prize heffer for a quick shag.

Horrendous, horrendous humiliation and dangerous behaviour stuff goes on when you totally segregate teens with raging hormones 24/7 from any experience of the opposite sex. There was also a hushed up episode where teenage boys were snuck into the dorms - potentially massive danger to younger girls, though luckily they didn't seek out anyone but the girls who'd got them in - they were almost caught by a house matron and escaped through a window, the girls were expelled but never gave up the names of the boys and boarders who'd found out what was happening were sworn to secrecy by the deputy head under the guise of protecting the girls', and the schools' reputation. Parents (except those of the expelled girls presumably) never heard the real reason for the expulsion.

Girls boarding school did have a lot of advantages for me, but it didn't teach me not to value the male gaze - age taught me that. It had academic advantages but also taught me that your parents are happier not knowing a lot of things. Boarding school generally I think teaches a kind of fairly extreme self reliance and independence and self sufficiency - I don't think that's single sex school specific, just boarding school. It can be the source of great personal strength but also a huge character flaw and weaknesses - it's been both for me.

I'm not sure sending your DD to a single sex school necessarily gives a parent who hasn't been to one full insight!

Juells, you are probably damaged you just don't know it.

No, life is about mixing.
Single sex schools are damaging !

What a generalisation! I don't think any of the girls at my schools were damaged. My best friend from back then certainly isn't (we are still friends), and I'm in an email thing with several from my year and they seem a well balanced bunch who loved school and did well in life.
There is plenty of time to mix after school hours, and later in life. None of us were damaged. And even today it suits some girls perfectly.

No. I believe in a truly comprehensive education. I don't want my dd separated off from half of the human race. I want her to learn to get along in the real world. She needs to learn how to succeed in a mixed society, and indeed to challenge any inappropriate behaviour.

DD is in year 9. Some of her closest friends are boys and she just sees them as people. Some of her friends from primary went to the single sex private secondary. I've noticed that they are completely obsessed with boys and go all girly and giggly when there are boys around. Not cool.

Went to a girls school then co-Ed. Preferred girls school and did much better as boys were incredibly attention seeking and disruptive. Was also assaulted by a boy at the latter but my main feeling is that they were disruptive and negatively impacted on my education. Constantly heckling female teachers in particular. Repulsive germs. And it was allegedly a good school.

Mine was a boarding school - there was a tradition of girls parading like cattle at a specific place on the edge of the school grounds for local boys who'd pick a girl out like a prize heffer for a quick shag. I have a rough and ready lorry driver friend who tells the same story!

I don't want my dd separated off from half of the human race. I want her to learn to get along in the real world. She needs to learn how to succeed in a mixed society, and indeed to challenge any inappropriate behaviour.

Surely you would be teaching her all that in her normal life anyway though? Her life doesn’t begin and end at school does it? She’ll have hobbies, extra curricular, male cousins, uncles, brothers, dad, grandfather, go to youth club, summer clubs, music lessons, etc.

All the rest of my family older than me went to single sex schools, I went to a mixed and it seems I have a far better grasp on life, though this might just be my age and generations before me.

I sent all of mine to mixed sex schools and one of my sons is an appalling sexist brat at times, no idea how I managed to raise one but I think had he been in an all boys school this could've been even worse. We've had many a conversation about his attitude to women and my utter disappointment in his views. But he has a grandfather that thinks along similar lines so I'm unsurprised.

I went to an all girls grammar school. Husband to an all boys grammar school. Both daughters went to an independent all girls school at 11. I loved my school and never wished to have boys there. We took pride in beating the local boys school at maths and a factor in my decision to study Physics at uni was my young, glamorous and female physics teacher. Both daughters liked their school and although given the opportunity to move to a mixed environment at 16 chose not to. I had plenty of boyfriends and have been married for 35 years. I would recommend if. Husband liked his school too btw.

Daughters also said it was nice not to have to bother with ‘all that makeup and stuff to attract boys’ like their friends at the mixed school.

We did typing too, separately, on manual typewriters with a secretarial skills teacher...

anothernotherone I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one that was faced with typing as a subject choice.

I went to an all girls school in Westminster and feminism was instilled in us from the very beginning of year 7. It has produced some hugely successful women, business owners, celebrities, sportswomen and even the founder/CEO of the feminist organisation Level Up.

I'm hugely in favour of same sex schools, although I don't believe they should be compulsory. But there should definitely be more same sex options. The nearest same sex school to us is in another county, a good 50 miles away. Not really plausible.

I am a big fan of single sex education between 11 and 16. It gives girls a chance to get used to all the changes happening to their bodies in an environment free of harassment.

Obviously they will have to face it eventually but when they are older and more self confident.

nicky my school offered typing for the girls that didn't want to do languages, we had a choice. I did languages and I still can't type to this day. But I was always disturbed going past the typing room. It just seemed so wrong at the beginning of the 80's that girls were 'farmed' off to typing class.

Also to add that I spent most of my career on male dominated environments. No problem at all - just because you go to an all girls school doesn’t mean you never meet boys.

Sorry le left out an entire sentence, it wasn't just the girls who didn't want to do languages. It was the girls deemed not intelligent enough to gain an O level in a language.

Oh and men and women are both actually people. So the social skills that you learn mixing with girls will apply to boys too.

Also I am not sure how much positive social interaction between the sexes does happen at mixed schools. Towards the end of primary boys and girls that wanted to be friends were teased by the other kids.

In some ways mixed sex friendships seem easier outside the school environment.

anothernotherone I've just read your later comment.

That was very eye opening.

Although, to be frank, I have also heard similar stories about members of the opposite sex being sneaked into dorms from a mixed sex boarding school near to us as well.

Thank you for sharing that.

The usual stereotypes being trotted out on here I see no wonder there are so many gender disappointment threads ....

We have 4 single sex grammar schools in our County, the girls ones are well known to have serious bullying issues. We’ve avoided them altogether. Dh went to an all boys school and vowed our dc would go to a co ed. I do believe in choice but personally I don’t believe single sex education is ideal.

On the subject of single sex boys schools - the most outrageously misogynistic, sexually entitled young men I've ever met went to very expensive boys boarding school.

I think single sex during lessons has an advantage for girls, but despite actually having mostly actually enjoyed boarding school I don't think the combination of single sex + boarding is always optimal. I've never been to a mixed boarding school but the girls from my school who left and went to boys schools with mixed sixth forms encountered highly sexualised, though heavily policed, boarding environments. One also encountered changing rooms and toilets labelled "boys" and "non boys" (late 1980s) in an ironic foreshadowing of today's choice of men's or gender neutral facilities...