Reference letters from head of primary school to secondary.

Guest55 · Post by **Guest55** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 3:27 pm

Socialising with girls/boys is VERY different from learning to co-operate in a classroom. It was really obvious at Uni who had come from a single-sex school as they could not cope in tutorials and assumed any boy who spoke with them fancied them. I spent a lot of time being an agony aunt ...

Thea - what do you mean? boys don't require a particular type of teaching - they just need, like girls, competent teachers that can address different learning styles!

T.i.p.s.y · Post by **T.i.p.s.y** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 3:47 pm

G55, It is well documented that teaching methods and the curriculum are female-biased. That aside there was always bias shown towards the girls at the coed schools we went to and the boys were viewed as "difficult" in comparison, unless they were quiet and intellectual.

Boys do better academically at single-sex schools especially in English and languages where they do not feel awkward standing up in front of other boys reciting poetry/acting and using the correct accents or intonation.

Sally-Anne · Post by **Sally-Anne** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 4:35 pm

T.i.p.s.y wrote:Boys do better academically at single-gender schools especially in English and languages where they do not feel awkward standing up in front of other boys reciting poetry/acting and using the correct accents or intonation.

I have to question that, because I feel that it comes down to the teacher and the ethos of the school, not whether it is mixed. My son recently did some performance work on Romeo & Juliet and there was no embarrassment factor at all, simply because the teacher had the right attitude.

Guest55 · Post by **Guest55** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 5:17 pm

The Benefits of Mixed Schools
Some evidence has suggested that boys in mixed schools performed better academically, as they are encouraged not to 'mess around' by their more responsible female classmates - but obviously this is a generalisation and might prove different in specific schools and even in particular classrooms. Some proponents of mixed schools claim these schools have a better atmosphere, since they are neither too 'bitchy', as can occur when a group of girls are working and studying together, not too aggressive, which can occur when boys are exclusively working and studying together.

Tipsy - the evidence is mixed - some studies show the opposite!
http://www.gettherightschool.co.uk/sing ... hools.html

T.i.p.s.y · Post by **T.i.p.s.y** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 5:27 pm

This quote is exactly why schools are female biased. It is insulting to males.

their more responsible female classmates

not too aggressive, which can occur when boys are exclusively working and studying together.

Chelmsford mum · Post by **Chelmsford mum** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 6:30 pm

Couldn't resist "chipping in".Everything I have ever read on the subject indicates that girls do better academically in single sex secondary schools.As I have 3 of that gender , that's what interests me.

I have one daughter who has a real leaning towards maths and science and I do believe that it is harder to excel at those subjects in a mixed environment.As she gets older and feels more self assured I am sure she would be fine in a mixed setting.(for example sixth form)

I went to a single sex school and certainly did not think that any boy at Uni who spoke to me "fancied" me.

That sounds like vanity rather than the product of single sex schooling!

At my daughter's school, there are endless opportunities to mix with the boys' grammar.She does discos and CCF for starters.There are also other joint clubs and activities.

I believe that even if these things were not organised, they would find a way to meet up.I have noticed how hormones affect their journey time to school.For example there is a great deal of very slow walking from the bus station which coincidentally enables both the boys and the girls at the grammars to get to know each other.

Tipsy I am sure in the boarding /indep sector they will find a way too to meet up.It sounds like the schools are aware of these issues.
Overall I am very happy with single sex schooling at secondary.It allows some "mixing" but not too much at a crucial time if you know what I mean.
Just my humble opinion

Guest55 · Post by **Guest55** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 7:19 pm

We are going off-topic but I honestly enjoyed the challenge of studying Maths and Science at a mixed school! Yes, there were fewer girls at A level but it was fun out-scoring the boys in tests etc

Chelmsford mum · Post by **Chelmsford mum** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 7:33 pm

I do G55, agree that can be great too.
However in DD's case she had just come out of a Primary setting where she was daily ridiculed, ostracised, bullied and called "the freak" and suchlike for excelling at those subjects... by a large and dominant group of boys in the class.
I think she would relish taking some of them on in those subjects now that she is a more self assured teenager, but the single sex setting has helped her become this.

Guest55 · Post by **Guest55** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 7:42 pm

A pity the teachers did not celebrate her ability ...

Chelmsford mum · Post by **Chelmsford mum** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 7:58 pm

If anything I think they felt that it would not help to, as you put it, " to celebrate her ability".
It's a long story and a factor was a relocation and a late move in primary.She suffered a bit of a "culture shock" in her new school where she encountered this hostility. It was a very different catchment.
Anyway a happy ending.She got through it and has recovered her confidence and discovered that its o.k to be a "boffin".