- Single sex schools traditionally outperform co-ed schools in major examination tables
- Yet the number of single sex schools in this country are rapidly declining, down from 2,500 in 1966 to less than 400 in 2013
- A study released today asks parents whether the academic benefits of single sex schools outweigh the perceived social benefits of co-ed schools
- Do students – and their parents – sometimes put long-term academic success second to their need for a more exciting social life ‘now’?
- As open day and entrance exam season begins, thousands of parents will be making the all-important decision where to send their children; would single sex schools be the better option more often than not?
It’s the age old debate – which will benefit your children the most educationally, and socially; a single sex or a co-ed secondary school education?
And now new research released today has reopened the issue, asking parents whether the educational benefits of single sex schools, are more important than the perception that co-ed schools teach their children how to interact with the opposite sex, giving them a more realistic view of the world.
There’s no doubt that academic tables for major exam results indicate single sex schooling does have a major positive impact on academic performance. In 2013 A level league tables, seven of the top ten state schools were single sex, while seven out of ten independent schools were all-girls.
But with school open days on the horizon and many parents about to make the all-important decision on where to send their children, will figures like those above influence parents to send their children to single sex schools and which would their children prefer to attend?
According to new research released today, almost three quarters of parents would consider sending their child to a single sex school, yet while more than a quarter of parents attended single sex schools themselves, today only 15% of children are enrolled at one.
In 1966 there were 2,500 single sex schools, but by 2006, that had dropped to just 400. The majority of single sex schools are now independent, yet even then there are still only around 250 independent single sex schools across the country. Yet these are the very schools which deliver the best exam results!
The single-sex versus co-ed debate is one that appears to be more of a factor for girls, with a third of parents believing that girls perform better at A Levels at single sex schools and 60% of those parents saying that is because they aren’t distracted by the presence of boys in the classroom.
Furthermore, some of the main arguments against single sex schools don’t seem to hold much sway with parents these days with less than 30% worrying that girls at single-sex schools don’t learn to interact with boys, while less than a fifth believe that girls at single sex schools face more bullying.
However, 90% of UK parents surveyed as part of the study by St Leonards-Mayfield School still believe teenagers prefer to go to a co-ed school especially in 6th form, with 62% saying their children think it will have a better social scene and 60% because their kids want to interact with the opposite sex.
But is the issue as simple as single sex schools for good results and co-ed schools for a better social life?
What do you think and what do your kids think?
email the editor: editorial@thesussexnewspaper.com