Mixed versus single sex comps

[kittymum]

Dh went to a boys boarding school and found the experience not ideal and for years (perhaps even still) regards women as a slightly alarming alien species

My DH is an only child, went to an all boys school and has similar traits to your DH, Kittymum. He has made DD and I promise that we'll make sure the same doesn't happen to DS!!

JD

Haha my dh is an only child too - I do think had he had some sisters at home things may have been better

[ToadMum]

As in many areas, we don't really have the option of single-gender comprehensives; the schools with an all-ability intake are all mixed, apart from the two which select according to how many times a week / month / year one attends a particular type of place of worship and - more importantly - makes sure that the priest notices that one has done so. The other schools which are single-gender intake at 11 are all grammars. However, all the sixth forms are mixed.

All 3 of our children have had lots of good friends of the opposite sex at primary, but their opinions regarding the local secondaries have been formed regardless the gender of their intake. Each aimed for one of the GSs, the boys doing well enough to get in straight away and DD taking the pretty route

DS1 seemed to settle in remarkably quickly into a boys-only friendship group at school, maintaining social contact with girls through drama groups, Scouts and swimming. He is now in the sixth form at one of tis is rather embarrassing he girls' GSs.

DD spent year 7 at a comprehensive school, where, amongst the other 198 in her year, she seemed to have little trouble in making friends with both boys and other non-girly girls. She has now spent nearly a year at the same girls' GS as her brother; a lot of the girls are rather girlier than she is - only to be expected - but she seems to have had no problems finding her niche. I get the impression that Popular Girls are much the same at both schools - and on the whole equally despised by DD I know rather more parents from her current school from outside life than I did at the comprehensive, which was closer to home but two catchments away, and have to say that it is always slightly embarrassing when DD dismisses one of theirs as a Popular...

In September, DS2 will move on to the same boys' GS as his brother initially attended.

I have to say that none of my Dutch / German / Swiss / Austrian friends have ever made the slightest comment about what kind of schools our DC attend. I actually met one of them when she came as that term's 'German Girl' - we had an arrangement with a school in Marburg - at my all-girls' indie. They did let her have a room of her own though, rather than force the joys of dormitory life upon her

[southbucks3]

My dh went to a seriously dodgy mixed upper school which has now been demolished, he still regards women as aliens but twinned with that has some, shall we say interesting, ideas of how teenage girls behave. He did have a mixed group of teenage friends though, unlike me who had a gang of nerdy girls.

Son number one only interacts with girls at discos or in the summer hols, his fear of girls is not made easier by the way they squeal and flirt with him at discos, he is terrified, poor boy! He came hone from the last disco covered in luminescent paint and glitter thanks to girls decorating him!

[Warks mum]

he still regards women as aliens

southbucks3's comment reminded me of this clip from last September's first intake of girls at KES Stratford. The poor lad is still haunted by the word 'aliens'...!

http://www.itv.com/news/central/update/ ... ll-report/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Amber]

I have to say that none of my Dutch / German / Swiss / Austrian friends have ever made the slightest comment about what kind of schools our DC attend.

Perhaps because the people I mix with professionally are fellow academics who are studying education and education policy my sample may be rather skewed, I admit. It tends to be something we talk and write about. I haven't ever discussed it with 'normal' people of those nationalities, so fair point TM .

[scary mum]

I have always been keen for my children to attend mixed schools, and we were fortunate that the nearest GS is mixed. I find it strange that many grammars are single sex, but few upper schools. I believe that life is mixed and so school should be as well, but as others have said, that is just my opinion. (I attended a girls' school, by the way, and was very happy there, but did regard boys as a slightly alien species, and am very glad to see my DCs have genuine friends of the opposite gender).

Edited to correct my mistake - sorry Amber!

[Amber]

I have always been keen for my children to attend mixed schools, and we were fortunate that the nearest GS is mixed. I find it strange that many grammars are mixed, but few upper schools. I believe that life is mixed and so school should be as well, but as others have said, that is just my opinion. (I attended a girls' school, by the way, and was very happy there, but did regard boys as a slightly alien species, and am very glad to see my DCs have genuine friends of the opposite gender).

It is the opposite here - the grammars (bar one) are single se x and the remainder are mixed. We also have Cheltenham Ladies College, but the boys' college, while still colloquially known as that, is now mixed and called Cheltenham College. I do wonder what would happen if someone challenged the right of a school to be single gender, with a test case, but none of my children was prepared to allow me that little experiment.

[southbucks3]

I think scary got her words muddled. All the bucks uppers are mixed as far as I am aware, but only five of the thirteen grammars are mixed (I think). Thank you guest 55 for the actual stats.

I do get a bit worried when people try to appeal against oversubscription for a single sex grammar school using the need or desire for single sex education as the reason, as I can see no reasonable grounds for this in an area where children have no alternative but mixed if they are not selected for grammar.

Like scary said, life is mixed and we should all be happy and confident interacting freely with one another from an early age. Hopefully now most sixth forms are mixed it will start trickling down into the other years too. But that said I don't think people should be academically segregated or religiously segregated either, so perhaps I am not the right person to air her views. I just think we should all be thrown into the mosh pit of life and be taught to tolerate each other and treat one another with equal respect from an early age.

[Guest55]

All Bucks Uppers are mixed.

There are 13 Bucks GS:

Boys: Aylesbury GS, Dr Challoners GS, John Hampden GS, Royal GS

Girls: Aylesbury High, Beaconsfield High, Dr Challoners High, Wycombe High

Mixed: Burnham GS, Chesham GS, Royal Latin, Sir Henry Floyd GS, Sir William Borlases GS

[southbucks3]

All Bucks Uppers are mixed.

There are 13 Bucks GS:

Boys: Aylesbury GS, Dr Challoners GS, John Hampden GS, Royal GS

Girls: Aylesbury High, Beaconsfield High, Dr Challoners High, Wycombe High

Mixed: Burnham GS, Chesham GS, Royal Latin, Sir Henry Floyd GS, Sir William Borlases GS

Thank you....I completely forgot about Becky high....i have boys and it's a girly one.