Do girls need girls' schools?

Do girls need to be educated separately from boys? Vicky Tuck, principal of Cheltenham Ladies College, and head of the Girls' Schools Association, thinks so. In fact, she's sure of it. In her speech to the annual GSA conference today, she spoke of "great girls", who make "great friendships" at school, and are imbued with a huge sense of confidence. These girls, she added:

"say that their teachers give them the confidence to believe in themselves; that their teachers inspire them with a love of learning; they do say that it helps not having boys around either mucking about or making them worry about their appearance; that they can compartmentalise their lives; they say that they cherish their friendships; they say that they feel they matter."

But Tuck didn't stop there. Instead of leaving it at the traditional idea of separating girls and boys because of adolescence, and the ability to concentrate more in single-sex classes, she also claimed that girls' brains were "wired" differently from boys.

"We know that these neurological differences are especially pronounced in adolescence and even that these teenage years are a second precious chance if early learning didn’t go well. We know that this means you have to teach girls differently to how you teach boys."

This is of interest to all parents, whether girls or boys (as clearly, it also suggests the opposite, that boys are better off educated away from girls) and whatever school they are educated in. It's strange that while there are so many private schools, so few mix the two sexes (except in the sixth form). And of course, separating the sexes hardly ever happens in state schools. But should it? I'm not sure. It might work in some subjects, but I'm not totally convinced that teenagers should be separate all the time. Doesn't that lead them to see boys as something unusual or unattainable (for romance only?) instead of the kind of people you are around every day? What do you think? Vicky Tuck is sure she's on the right lines:

"Far from living in the dying days of single sex-education, I am confident that as the understanding of the brain continues to evolve, what is obvious to us will soon become obvious to everyone, that girls learn in a different way to boys and that it is crucial to cater for their separate needs. I have a hunch that in 50 years time, or maybe only 25, people will be doubled up with laughter when they watch documentaries about the history of education and discover that people once thought it was a good idea to educate adolescent boys and girls together."

Read School Gate on:

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Who do you trust more with your child's education - the Conservatives or Labour?

Comments

[Kate]

It may well be true that educating girls on their own produces better results and more intelligent and forward thinking young women, but the same cannot be said for their social wellbeing. Having been at an all girl's school since the age of 4 (I am now 17) I feel that I have missed out on a proper social life and mixing with boys in normal situations. So while I and my friends may be leaving school next year with top grades and the guarantee of a good university place, we have missed out on a huge amount of normal teenage activities, and by extension, a huge amount of fun.

[lizzie]

i am currently going to a mixed school, and this school is setted according to ability. i think this is much better, as a previous school i went to was not setted according to ability and it was much harder to concentrate. i feel that mixed education is good, as you are more motivated - we are not seperated for any classes, and this can be a slight problem in PSE, as the boys can be very immature - although that is sometimes the girls!!! however, we feel very motivated to achieve, and as a result of this the fact we are not in single sex schools does not matter. we do not view boys as sex objects, we see them as realy human beings, as we regularly see them throughout the school day.

[dr maureen tilford]

Its interesting to read everyones views which range between the extremes that single or mixed sex schools are better. Apparently, the research shows that mixed is better for boys but single for girls , academically.I was educated in the state sector : mixed primary and all girl secondary: 1954-1966. Quite a long time ago and I am totally unable to recgnise the truly awful bullying and humiliation that pupils suffer now. It sounds like torture! we had a really great head at the small primary who was inspiring and showed us real leadership : we wanted to behave in an honourable way for him. At the secondary level, many were the children of economic migrants ( including me)and refugees from the war in Europe, so we all wanted to achieve some place in the new culture and be sucessful academically. It seems that if the overarching culture brings everyone in to the group and everyone 'buys in' , rather like a gang , it works well. You achieve group loyalty and share common goals. it seems to me that inspiring leadership must be lacking in schools now so people form themselves into gangs/cliques which are loyal to other members of the clique but extremely hostile and bullying to everyone else . This is the human 'default ' position which comes into play when no other options are available. Any thoughts?

[Geoff]

Important as educational qualifications are, surely the primary purpose of school is to prepare the child for the world. The real world is mixed sex, religion, race and many other things. It does a child no favours if his or her education separates them from their contemporaries on any of these grounds.

[Jess]

I was at both a mixed private school and a girls-only private school during my secondary education. Although the girls' school did encourage academic excellence, the accompanying social problems were hard to ignore.

The reason selective girls' schools do so well is because a culture of competition is engendered, whether it is sought or not. This extends to grades (where it is motivating) but also to appearance- the girls are extremely concerned about how they look. There are disproportionate numbers of cases of anorexia and bulimia: mental illnesses caused by feelings of a lack of control and inadequacy. There is also a high proportion of self harmers. These feelings are encouraged in a system where, often, anything less than the best is not enough. Getting a 'B' in anything was nothing less than an outright failure and there was a definite lack of perspective.

Hothousing the most talented girls and leaving them without the moderating influence of boys "pratting around" is potentially damaging. Further, the same academic standards were achieved by the brightest in the mixed school that I attended- but there were far fewer accompanying problems. I remember being surprised that everyone was so happy and unconcerned with how they looked- perhaps the opposite of what might be expected upon reading Vicky Tuck's comments.

[Louise]

The comments show that it is how good the school is that matters and not if it is single sex or mixed. It is sad that so many commentators had bad experiences at school (so did I, because I was clever). It seems to be true that all types of school, state, private, single or mixed can be miserable places where students do not reach their full potential; surely as a society we can do something about this, without home schooling everyone (which causes its own not dissimilar problems for students, apart from the need for most parents to go out to work now)

[Eleanor]

Since schools are for learning, the students, whether male or female, should be given the best opportunity to concentrate free from distractions whilst in the classroom since this is vital to absorbtion of knowledge.
Do girls distract boys or vice versa in the classroom?
Both groups can distract eachother from concentration due to obvious reasons. It should be the choice of the student about type of school attended and i think more mixed schools should have single-sex classes for learning whilst making sure there is at least some interaction between boys and girls for social reasons because some students from single sex schools do not interact with the opposite sex enough on a social level. This can lead to problems socially.

[Jan]

I went to a girls state grammar school, my children (a boy and a girl) now go to single sex state grammar schools.
Luckily the schools are next door to each other. There is mixed travelling to/from school on the contract buses and the sixth form is also mixed.
They both enjoy school and have a good set friends.
There was a charity disco for Year 7 for both schools recently so interaction is encouraged, just not during school hours - the hours of learning.
As for myself I found adolescence difficult, thick glasses, braces, spots, but this did not matter as there were no boys to worry about.
I went to university and studied engineering, something I am sure I would not have done if I had gone to a mixed school.
I think in a mixed school in the 1970's I would have been pushed into teaching, nursing or something similar and not encouraged to study physics and mathematics.
However it could be argued that it was because I went to a single sex school that I chose to study engineering, to be surrounded by men!

[Ian Johnson]

My ten year old switched to a private single sex school when she was seven.Her academic and social confidence has increased dramatically in this time. She has lots of friends amongst other pupils and has picked up that unassuming air of success that most of the girls there seem to have.

At her previous mixed school, which was also independent, there were disruptive pupils in the class - mainly boys. To my daughter's perception most of the boys were "silly anyway" with just a few exceptions. This may have been her interpretation of the articles idea that boys mature more slowly and girls are "wired" differently. I wouldn't say my daughter was unhappy there but the school generally had a mediocre feel about it.

Looking at some of the other comments posted, it is obviously not shiny for everyone going to an all girls school. There are clearly other factors like good management, teaching and pastoral care to consider. All I can say is that my daughter's present school must have got everything right - in which case she is very lucky!

[Susan W.]

I am a retired teacher whose daughter went to single sex schools from age 5-17. There are some drawbacks, but I don't think she would have achieved as much in a mixed school. Both Headmistresses were ambitious for their girls. Challenges were tailored to individual interets and capabilities.
I taught briefly in a boys' comprehensive. It was a very happy time. When the girls came(the sch. became mixed), I was sad. They were loud and proud, vindictive, held grudges.... Luckily for me, I worked a lot with boys who had fled their countries without sisters, sometimes without parents. The determination to succeed was hugely impressive in many cases.
Some time seemed to be wasted by posing, spraying Lynx, etc. around and other showing off to the opposite sex.
Most of my teaching was in Infant schools. The boys are so often late developers. They are placed with girls of the same age, but who are more 'ready to read'. Many boys are labelled as 'slow' or 'Special needs' when they are just 'young'!
In Scandinavian countries or Germany, they would not be expected to read and write at age 5/6.

[Amy]

I went to an all girls state school between the ages of 11-18 (I'm now 19, in my second year at University). I can honestly say that it was the most horrendous place I have been unfortunate enough to have spent seven years of my life in.

Gossiping, drugs and constant competition to look the best wore some girls down to the degree where they would compete over who had the most self-harming scars. My younger sister was so badly bullied (physically and emotionally) at that place that she hasn't yet recovered, even though she left three years ago.

Unfortunately, the other schools in the area were deemed by my parents to be even worse, so it was the only choice. I'm so glad it's over.

[Shaz]

Having gone to many mixed state schools during my younger years and then an all-girl private school until now (year 10), I can say that for me, I don't really agree with the idea of single-sex schools.

I don't particularly get on with girls that well anyway and I am quite independent. There are loads of 'groups' here and no one goes anywhere on their own so I am kind of a 'loner'. Also, there is a lot of bitchiness and two-facedness from when you are at school to when you are around boys on the bus and the girls show off around them.

In addition, guys honestly are viewed as sex objects. Everyone is talking about how they got drunk and made out with different boys and what 'base' they've got to.

I have to admit though, that I feel really awkward when talking to boys as I don't know how to speak to them at all and get very self-concious. And the boys from the all-boy school down the road do the same to us. If you meet them they instantly look you up and down and you get the sick feeling that you are being 'rated'.

I think mixed schools with seperated lessons for Maths and Science would be ideal as this still allows the two sexes to work with each other as they would in real life.

However, I AM getting good grades in my all-girl school so that is a big plus. But I also got good grades in my primary state school before as well. I think, maybe, seperation for high school is better than all the way through because that is when you need to concentrate and aren't mature enough yet to have the motivation on your own. I am planning to go to a mixed school for sixth form though as I think I should learn how to actually converse with boys of the same age group before I enter the real world.

I think it is different for different people and different schools. Boys are said to be better off in mixed schools but judging from the comments, I think they are better off in single-sex. However, a prestigious mixed private school would perform better whether or not it was segregated. It depends on how much effort the students are willing to put in. In private schools there is more pressure from the school to do well which motivates you.

Sorry I wrote an essay lol! This is an issue that interests me. I have to write a debate on it soon...

[susannah]

What shocks me here is the low standard of literacy of the young people posting here. Bad grammar, punctuation and vocabulary make some of the posts difficult to understand or read. Whatever schools these young people have been attending - single sex or not - they are clearly not doing their job very well.

[Marco]

in complete agreement with MAS and REBEKAH,i too went to an all-boys school 11-18 and it certainly didn't help me in my development. if i ever had children, i wouldn't send them to a single-sex school. as for discipline, that's up to the teacher.

[Sam]

I went to an all girls school and am now completely against the whole idea of them.
At my secondary school, people became intensly cliquey and bitchy because there were no boys around, so girls didn't behave normally.
Boys became seen as a currency, whoever had slept with the most becomeing the leader of the pack. I can say without doubt that over 3/4 of my year lost their virginity long before 16.
Mums, don't send your daughter to an all girls high school. She'll have to become either a bully or a victim, a slag or a rejected loser. There are no normal mediums there!
Its only now I'm at a mixed school I can comprehend the weirdness of this behaviour! I thought it was normal!

[J]

I've been to a girls school for 10 years and I really enjoyed it. From what I hear from my ex-classmates, and personal experiences, girl-school girls are usually less dependent on guys and in a way, have more confidence. My sister hated being in a mixed school (after attending a girls only primary school) so much we had to take her out after a few months.

Ultimately, I believe that it all still depends on the child's personality and choice!

[HE Qiu]

It is undeniable that specific educating method in single sex school is more efficient than the mixed one as it suits features of each gender. But in the real life, there are nearly no special treatment. The boys and girls can compete for the same post and achievements. Those from segregrated school will have to get used to this after graduation, which they may skip had they were mied school attender.

[Anne]

From the age of 11-14 I went to an all girls secondary school then my family moved and all the schools in the area were mixed sex. I liked my new school but it was impossible to concentrate in the class room due to the boys being very loud and fiesty. They were also quite disgusting in their habits of tackling girls to the floor and proceeding to dry hump them at lunch time.Where as in my all girls school there would be talking in lesson, but never enough to prevent people listening to the teacher and working.

[Dominic]

For boys single sex schools are preferable.

Nature dictates that the male sex has a powerful interest in the female sex - because of course the human race would not have lasted long without it - which the female sex do not reciprocate.

Schools are for learning, when a boy is at his desk he should be concentrating on his lessons and not on the - to him - very attractive young female at the next desk who probably finds him a contemptibly irritating pest.

Nature needs to be controlled and the development of the mind should not be hindered by natures primitive urges.

[meiyaxun]

I don't like the idea of sepertate pupils

[Kate]

Although I went to a mixed secondary school, top set Science was seperated into a boys class and a girls class, what they found was boy's work improved greatly whilst many of the girl's work dropped in standard. I also found that working in a group of just girls was a lot more distracting than in a mixed set, until then I'd always assumed it was boys who were disruptive but I think that may have been the effect of them trying to impress us.

I also have to agree with what many people are saying about single-sex educated people idolising the opposite gender purely as sex objects and this goes both ways, not just boys to girls. My sixth form has many girls who previously attended the girls school across the road and don't know how to act around them, leading to excessive flirtation and those of us from mixed schools looking down upon them.
In conclusion I have to agree with previous posters who say that whilst boy's schools do the job in the academic area I can't agree on that for girl's schools and I feel students from both lack imprtant social experiences.

[Rebekah]

Kids should have mixed-sex schools but single sex classes (in English, maths and science, for example). I remember sitting in a maths class at 16 and thinking what a good ideal this would be! A lot of lads just like messing around and aren't as mature as girls at this age. It did get very frustrating as a female, to watch them pratting about.

[mas]

I had been in boys' school between the age of 12 and 18. At this time of life, not knowing almost anything about the opposite sex was a loss of my life. I am now 24 and have a girlfriend, but I am still wondering what girls were doing in their teenage.
Although I did quite well in A-levels, I went into uni and had the first break up with a girl. In the second year of university, it broke my heart so much that I quit going to university. I say it really was a damage to my life as I am now still studying to get a degree. Surprisingly, I discovered that my sister who had also been going to girls' school in her teenage had quit her uni because of the same reason 10 years ago, I think going out and breaking up with the opposite sex should be experienced in teenage when the effect is not so life breaking.
Mixed school definitely develops the social skill and I will send my children to mixed schools in future.

[Emma]

I am a 17 year old girl and I went to a mixed middle school but when it came for a move to high school, my parents decided to send me to a single sex school.

Changing from a mixed sex school to and single sex school changed me from being really confident to a shy reclused person. Although I used to get on better with boys than girls, I found it hard to interact with boys my age whilst at high school as I felt out-of-touch with them and didn't see them to interact with on a daily basis.

As for the education side of things, I don't think any difference was made to my learning. I don't think it helped that the school felt, being all-girl, that it was better than everyone-else and only really cared about the schools image and achievements, not the pupils themselves (demonstrated well when they forgot to send off a code to recieve our RS GCSE results - meaning the results came to us weeks later than they were supposed to - and all they could say was that it 'would effect where the school was in the results league table')

Overall, I personally think mixed sex schools allow pupils to develop valuble social skills between each other.

[Kate]

I went to an all girls school and from the age of about 14 me and my friends viewed all boys purely as sex objects, not real people who you would bother trying to have a conversation with. Every man I met was judged on whether I wanted do them and I didn't really get over that until I happened to meet someone who was gay and therefore out of my sexual radar. Basically it turned me into a massive slut, although I did get very good GCSE results so I guess its six of one, half a dozen of the other.

[CARRIE]

I was at a mixed state primary school, and then went to a girls private secondary school, and now go to a mixed university. I definitely did best at my girls school. You can hardly concentrate on maths when you're worrying about make up!

Plus, the girls who transferred to male sixth form schools ended up VERY badly - bad grades, and very bad reputations..

[Deborah]

Forget separating pupils on the basis of sex. It's fairly arbitrary, and if girls and boys really do have differently wired brains then they can gain useful insights into other ways of thinking if they are educated together. The real problem with our education system is comprehensive education, so how about streaming all classes based on ability and motivation to learn? As an ex-pupil of a comprehensive I can say I have had many hours of my education wasted by certain pupils intent on causing mayhem and disrupting entire lessons.

[Kim]

I can assure anyone who thinks that mixed schools present an alternative to the girl-on-girl bullying that goes on in girls' schools that boys are also capable of bullying girls too, usually through unpleasant sexual insults designed to demean and humiliate them. And boys in a mixed-sex school can be extremely disruptive in the classroom in a way that girls rarely are.

[HR20]

I'm a 20 year old young woman, who went to a single sex private school and i can 100% say that it benefited me. No distractions, no competition between the girls for boys certainly helped create an atmosphere conducive to learning.
I will say that boys were not a rare and exciting thing, travelling to school on public transport gave me more than enough of an insight, and a fair share of boy mates and boyfriends. Now i am at university i can safely say that i have a healthier attitude to boys than most girls i know who went to mixed schools.
In conclusion my school taught me to be a sensible young adult...something which extends beyond the simplicity of boys.

[Whimsey]

Don't know about girls needing girls only schools, but I think boys need boys only schools, for reasons already expressed here. My son has been at a boys only school since nursery, and I think girls would have just 'got in the way'.

However, I think what Lucy says about her younger sister is interesting, in that the sister is 'boy mad' because of her deprivation, whereas Lucy gets to see boys 'warts and all'

I like the idea of separate lessons, but some kind of mixed sex site with some lessons being mixed sex.

However, the bottom line surely is that there will always be some teenagers of either gender who are more 'sexually advanced/aware' than others, who will get on with it anyway, whether at school together or not.

Also, no one has mentioned that girls at a mixed sex schools wouldn't surely be seen dead going out with a boy from their own year - they aim at least two years higher, don't they?? Whether than means their age peer boys are then available as 'friends' I don't know.

[Cynthia]

Just in response to Lucy:

It could just be you and your sister are different and fell in with different sorts of people. Both my sister and I went to the same mixed school. When I was at school I never interacted with boys very much although some of my friends did, I still seem to see boys as some sort of 'other'. However my sister has lots of guy friends but this does not make her any less boy crazy.

[Father Ignatius Brown]

Has anyone tried running a school where the girls and boys socialise together (lunch, break, after school clubs, morning prayers, drama and singing classes etc) but work separately (particularly for subjects such as sport, science and maths)?

I think this arrangement would offer them the best of both worlds - particularly between the ages of 9 and 16 when, quite frankly, boys are pretty revolting specimens and girls suddenly become different creatures.

I went to an boys school from 9-18 and the most frightening thing about leaving school and getting my first job was not the idea of work but of working with women (my first boss was a woman and she quickly kicked the woolly thinking from my head - but I could have done with more experience of her type earlier - this was not something that ever came up in careers advice).

Just so you know the background: I went to a mixed for a year than all gils till 16 then mixed again for sixth form. I took part in various out of school activities so had male as well as female friends.

Boys are just a btichy and gossipy as girls. They are not more up front in my experience. I do think both boys and girls try to impress the opposite sex either by showing of looks and can spread horrible rumours and bully each other just as bad if they think you are a threat (this happened with some friends of my brother's when the girls joined the all boys school in the sixth form). So I do agree that perhaps taking that element out of school especially at an early stage may help.

However, I think the most important thing is to know your children! Some will always get on beeter in mixed and some need single sex. I thrived in my single sex school as did my brother and we didn't have much trouble adjusting to the mixed sixth form.

Also, if you do go the route of single sex than make sure your kids do things outside school that let them mix with the opposite sex so they know what they are like.

[W]

I went to a girls school from the age of 11 to 18 and thought by far it was the best thing for me. Results in my area show that by far the girls in an all girls school fare better than girls in a mixed school. At that age your education and career are far more important then meeting boys!

[Hope]

I'm a girl and go to a mixed college and I think it's much better to be mixed. I have girl friends but spend most of my time with boys. Girls are, as has been said, so bitchy, this is very hurtful as from my experience girls don't have any problems with who they bitch about. Boys aren't like that, i feel i can trust them as they are more upfrount if they don't like anything about you, this is easier to deal with than the behind-the-back girl bitching. Leaving you to look out for yourself and not care about other people.

Therefore, although the education might be better if you spereate boys and girls what kind of people are you creating? Girls who only care about themselves, thats what.

[Helen]

I went to an all girls' school from 11 to 16 and found it rather unpleasant - girls are so bitchy! The mixed sixth form was much better but then we'd all grown up a bit by then as well. I think a co-ed school would have suited me better. But I'm sure there are girls who thrive in an all-girls' environment and likewise for boys in an all-boys' school.

[ruby]

i dont't think mixed school is not good. In china, most of schools are mixed school. and aslo we can form a good teaching system and educate good students. of course, teenagers may easier to fall in love in mixed school. but we couldn't conclude that it is the reason result that.

[Duncan Robinson]

I think Vicky Tuck has the right idea, but the wrong gender. Boys around girls are an extremely different creature to boys around boys.

Boys around boys are extremely competitive - competitiveness that would spill over into academic work.

Boys around girls simply show off. I know I did. As did all my mates. And every male I've ever met.

It's much easier to concentrate if you're focused on your work and not on how to get into the pants of the person next to you.

Or so I argue here:

http://lazystudents.blogspot.com/2008/11/single-sex-education-vicky-tuck.html

[Lucy]

I am an 18 year-old girl and I go to a mixed school, and all my girl friends, being around boys the whole time, don't think of them as that big a deal - we are friends with them, and can interact completely normally with them. I find it great to have boys in my class - not just as boyfriends (I have never had one) but just as a different type of person from girls - they add a whole new dimension to classroom life, and often it's a relief to have them around as opposed to girls who can often be bitchy. I don't worry about my appearance around them and try to impress them the whole time, simply because I'm used to them.
My sister however, is nearly 16 and goes to an all-girls school. She and all the other girls in her year are totally boy-crazy - all they think about is getting boyfriends. When they see boys, they go crazy and only think about impressing them, to the point of it being quite embarrassing, simply because they are not used to it. When a boy does come along, they throw themselves at him - however bad a person he is, they don't care, they just want a relationship, be it bad or not. This causes them to get hurt more, compared to my friends who are willing to wait for a boy they actually like.
In class also, I do not find my work remotely disrupted by boys - infact they are some of the hardest workers. True, I go to a highly academic private school and it was different when I went to a state school (below year 9) where the boys were more disruptive, but even then I would not have chosen to go to an all-girls school, because I feel it gave me an experience necessary for later life.
My mum went to an all-girls school and saw virtually no boys, and as a result when she went to university she had no idea how to act around boys, which greatly affected her - she would definitely benefit from a mixed education.
I think it is ridiculous to segregate the sexes at school, when schools should be teaching skills for later life - how to interact normally around the opposite sex! All that's needed is better teaching, better schools and more discipline.

[Jos Costello]

Thank you, Neil - you've said what I feel much better than I ever could. If schools offered the sort of supportive environment you and I agree is needed, we would not need single sex education. I also maintain that girls are generally far more horrible to other girls whether in a single or mixed environment. As for being distracted by the presence of boys - I also excelled at school in a large mixed school in the Netherlands and I knew full well that there was a time for boys and a time for studying - that understanding is what we should foster for everyone.

[Neil]

I think many of these comments are largely anecdotal and complex. Some of the comments have focused on how a uniform rather then sex segregation had a bigger impact on self-consciousness. Let’s not forget that even in a mixed school, most of the appearance pressures are coming from girls, not boys. In addition, there have been some comments about transferring from mixed to segregated – consider that this isn’t a direct comparison as the person would be a different life stage and both schools would have different social climates.

I would propose that while there may be variations in segregation/mixed schools, it is far from being a major influence. Such considerations as the academic standards, teaching staff and classroom/extra curricular programming will have a bigger impact on enjoyment and success. At its essence, arguing that girls do better without boys because they are “different” is not far from saying girls can’t do math and should have lower math standards because they are “different” – simply untrue. While there are real differences in girls neurologically (smaller overall brain size, more connections in corpus callosum), this in no way creates an underlying inability to perform or function socially. School pressures are social phenomenon that are unrelated to physical structure. It is incorrect and misleading to argue that the segregation of the sexes is the solution when it is clear that it is a question of a supportive and empowering environment.

[Sam]

I went to an all girls secondary school and I excelled academically, especially in Maths and the Sciences. It's difficult for me to say whether or not I would have performed the same or worse had I attended a mixed school, however the pressure of not having to compete for male attention with other girls would have, I'm sure enabled me to remain focused. I then went to a mixed sixth form, where I took Maths, Chemistry and Physics A-Levels and being one of only 3 girls out of 15 boys, I still had so much confidence and the ability to beat the boys in what are traditionally male orientated subjects. I doubt I would have had the confidence had I gone to a mixed school. I then went on to complete a chemical engineering degree.

[Amy]

I went to a single sex school and while I did better academically than I think I would have in a mixed environment, I realised the other day that I didn't know any boys my age until I went to university.

In some ways that was good - I didn't expect them to treat me differently or as 'a girl' because no one ever had, but at the same time I had no idea how to react to possible relationships.

Single sex education is great, but if your kids are at an all-girls/boys school make sure they do something which mixes them with the opposite sex.

[Sarah]

I went to both single sex and mixed schools, and by far I did better academically at the single sex school. I was awkward and not particularly popular with the girls in my class but at least I wasn't ridiculed about weight, hair style or dress sense (since there was a uniform). Had I been at a mixed school, I truly believe my life would have been far more unhappy because all those factors would have been at play. Girls can be horrible to each other, as noted, but they are way worse when there's male attention to be had. If you want daughters to succeed at school academically (vs socially) then I completely endorse single sex education.

[Laura, London]

I went to both girls and mixed schools for my education and my years in single sex were far happier and more productive. At a mixed school I spent most of my time worrying about my appearance, obsessing about my crushes and developing an eating disorder, brought about in no small part by the constant competition among the girls for the attention of the boys. I will definitely send my daughters to a single sex school and I don't think it need impact on their ability to mix with boys if they have a normal life outside school - despite being at a girls school, I was friends with plenty of boys from other schools. In my home town, plenty of state schools are single sex but they have partner schools on the same grounds, so girls and boys will be taught separately but mix at break and lunchtime - perhaps the perfect compromise!

[Jos]

I'm sorry, but I just don't believe in single-sex education. It might have educational advantages - though I'm not convinced of that either - but having seen at first hand the absolute b*tchiness of girl-on-girl bullying I think that the moderating influence of the male is badly needed. If that means girls having boyfriends younger, so be it. Other countries manage to produce higher educational standards than the UK does without single-sex education - perhaps we should find out why.

[Hol]

I went to an all girls school, and while I can't really disagree with the positives they brought up I have to say that the lack of male interaction didn't exactly prepare me for the wider world in which naturally I have to be able to work equally with men and women!

There are pluses and minuses to both co-ed and single sex education, but I can't imagine co-ed education dying out as Vicky Tuck predicts.

[newjerseygirl]

I went to a girls' comprehensive from the age of 11 (the sixth form merged with the other schools in the town, thus introducing boys into our hormonally-charged lives). While I was bullied by another girl at the beginning of my senior school years, the later years were hugely enjoyable and I ended up with a great set of friends and a great all-round education.
Being tall for a girl (6ft), reasonably clever and, in my early teenage years, extremely awkward, I am sure I would have had a far more hideous time at a mixed school. Boys and girls start 'romances' much younger nowadays (my niece had a boyfriend at age 12), and I don't think I could have coped with being all of the above and boyfriend-less, too. (Trust me, boys don't like tall girls, but that's a whole other posting...)
In terms of education, by the time our sixth form did merge with the other three schools, my friends and I discovered that we found the 'A' level subjects easier than our mixed-school counterparts (and I took the traditionally 'male' subject of Mathematics/Physics at A Level!). I can't speak of boys schools from experience, of course, but for me, girls schools rule!