Single sex schools perform better academically than mixed

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notsgink
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Joined: Mon Feb 02, 2009 12:13 pm

Single sex schools perform better academically than mixed

Post by notsgink »

It seems from recent research shows that all girl schools out perform mixed or "co-ed" schools academically. Indeed the same is true for all boy schools. Just look at the league tables. I believe there is also a lot of social benefits to teaching the sexes separately. Do you agree? :?:
Giulio
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Joined: Thu Oct 02, 2008 4:31 pm
Location: London

Post by Giulio »

great subject!
I have read the front page Guardian article about this research by the "Good School Guide". I accept the claim that, excluding grammar schools, girls do better in single gender schools.
There is no consensus on why. Suggestion was either because girls are not "distracted" by the boys' influence or because parents of single gender school girls are pushier.

My incline, influences by DW, is for the first explanation. Absense of boys makes for a more relaxed environment which is condusive of better academic performance.

This is not necessarily all good. Learning to live with the other gender might not be part of the curriculum but it is undoubtly part of growing up.

Depends on how much value you attach to the added academic growth versus the added social skills.
Plus depends for the individual child what opportunities he or she has to complement the school experience he or she gets.
surreymother2
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Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2008 8:27 am

Post by surreymother2 »

I'm a bit put off girls only schools by the fact that girls (like women - and i am one so I should know!) can be so incredibly bitchy. I think having boys around stops that getting so excessive and all-consuming. Having been to both mixed and an all-girls school I certainly found that to be the case.

I think if you've got a sensitive daughter who isn't too good at brushing off a bit of bitchiness from other girls then she'd be better off at a mixed school. I found the smallish girls school I went to briefly was just so petty and hormonal all the time!! Very claustrophobic.

It's all about massive generalizations- and that's just my humble opinion!
Bexley
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Joined: Tue Mar 27, 2007 11:13 pm

Post by Bexley »

We opted for a co-ed school as we are a female heavy family i.e siblings, cousins, second cousins all girls, and DD, along with us felt it would be beneficial for her to be in a mixed environment. So far it has worked(Yr 8) and she has boys as friends but not boyfriends! She is achieving well academically, in fact even though there are more boys than girls in her class, girls are generally outperforming the boys, even in subjects like maths and science.
Statistically, single sex schools may do better, but I suppose what is best depends on the temperament of the individual child.I'm pleased with our choice, but others at single sex schools are probably equally so.
T.i.p.s.y

Post by T.i.p.s.y »

I think single sex is most beneficial between the ages of 11-16 when children are developing and becoming sexually aware but seem to act more immature! :roll: In the sixth form I see a benefit to coed and I have heard that boys do well when girls enter their sixth form because it makes the boys work harder because they don't want the girls to beat them!

I have been more pleased with the single sex prep schools than the coed ones our sons have been to because I have found the teaching is biased towards female learning styles and I have also found the teachers to be highly critical of boys within a coed environment. In a single sex primary school their exuberance and boisterousness is not seen as a negative trait and the teachers seem to teach in a way that engages boys more. Thats just my experience but because we have no females in the family I feel coed could be better socially for our boys.
Guest55
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Post by Guest55 »

Bewildered
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Location: Berkshire

Post by Bewildered »

G55, that article makes scary reading, supports surreymother2's view, and confirms what I suspected. :cry:
Boy's only, work much better from the emotional point of view; not just the academic.

One of our top local schools is Girls only, leaving me in a quandarry as to whether to try for it and put DD through such turmoil, or play safe and just try for the local co-ed, where the boy's will be the only distraction. :roll:

Decisions, decisions. :(
sycamore
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Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 2:41 pm
Location: South Wilts

Post by sycamore »

Bewildered wrote:Decisions, decisions. :(
BW, you're lucky to have a choice!

Our choices were between SS Grammar, SS comp (sports college - don't even ask :lol: ), mixed comp on council estate and mixed small Catholic comp. The last 2 don't exactly get great results. :roll:

Am taking the article with a bucket of salt. Obviously the author was so damaged by her time at school that she only became a journalist writing for a national newspaper. Poor thing.

I went to a single gender school and hated it.

But my daughter is her own person and I'm a very different parent from my mother. 8)
Another worried Mum
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Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 12:12 am

Post by Another worried Mum »

Of course to me there is just one problem with Bryony Gordon's article - she doesn't actually have anything to compare it with! I wonder why she thinks that the behaviour of groups of girls does not happen in mixed schools? Obviously from her sweeping generalisations, we now all know that the psychological (rather than physical) bullying, only happens in all-girls schools? :roll:

She is right in one sense - boys do tend to sort out their differences in a more physical way (eg a fight), whilst girls are more bitchy (if I can use that word on this forum!). However, this happens with any groups - unless she suggests that we have only 1 girl per class, then she will get along fine with all the boys and there won't be any other girls around to be nasty to her!

It's just not the real world - and Bryony just comes across to me as rather bitter! (Although clearly she has learned how to make nasty, hate-filled comments - must be because she has left with so many "mental health issues")

I personally always felt that I would not be in favour of single-sex education. However, when considering our DD as an INDIVIDUAL, then we all felt that a single-sex school would provide best for her. She still has lots of contact with male friends - many from her previous primary, but also new friends from the boys school next door. She has also told me that she is happy in her school, without boys in lessons and in the playground!

In this day and age, there are so many opportunities for both girls and boys to mix with the other gender outside of the school timetable, that it is perfectly reasonable for well-rounded, happy and well-educated young adults to emerge from a single-sex school.
guest42
Posts: 138
Joined: Mon May 12, 2008 12:32 pm

Post by guest42 »

We chose a co-ed secondary school for DD. Primarily because the girls in her all-girl prep school were so nasty to each other. (The caring gender?!!)

No regrets whatsoever. A much better atmosphere. Any academic issues with alleged different teaching styles are taken care of with small class sizes (15), comments recorded on behaviour, attitude and achievement for every lesson for every pupil...and as a bonus she doesn't end up a psycho at the end!

Any statistics must be taken with a complete pinch of salt. There is a huge lobby with the GSA who have to avoid being the turkeys on Christmas Eve and justify their existence!
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