EDUCATION CO-ED OR SINGLE SEX
Harrow School Headmaster,
Barnaby Lenon, espouses
the academic benefi ts and freedom that comes with a single-sex education
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ome less popular boys’ schools have, in recent years, been forced to take girls because there was insuffi cient demand from boys of a good enough standard to maintain a respectable position in exam league tables. Having taken girls, it is quite understandable that they will justify this decision in terms of the supposed merits of co-education. I would do the same thing if I ran a school which needed to take girls in order to survive. But never think that co-education was something that these schools’ parents wanted or supported.
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Single-sex schools have a huge problem – they have half the number of potential applicants as the co-ed schools. So they are going to fi nd it harder to fi ll their places and you would expect them to be less selective and less successful academically. In fact, however, they dominate the league tables. How can this be?
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There are not many single-sex schools in the state sector but in the top 20 of the exam league tables, 12 are single sex. Most independent schools are co-ed but of the top 20 in the league tables, two are co-ed. I am sure that not all co-ed schools are popular, but many well-known co-ed schools are very popular. So why do their pupils not do better in exams?
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Because, as every teacher knows, teenage boys and girls learn in different ways and need to be taught in different ways.
girls and boys is greatest when they are 15. Boys like competition and fi nd it motivating, even if
they lose. They do not mind competing with their friends. In fact competition, such as on the sports fi eld, creates friendships. Girls do not like competing against their friends. Girls like to express their feelings, boys do not. Boys systematically overestimate their ability, girls underestimate their ability. Girl friendships are about being together, spending time together, talking together. Boy friendships more usually develop out of a shared interest and involve little talking. In a recent survey, ‘reading a good book’ was listed as a ‘preferred activity’ by 43 per cent of girls and 17 per cent of boys. Girls also work harder. These differences, which will be familiar to parents with
both sons and daughters, have implications for teaching and learning. Boys prefer teachers with loud voices, girls prefer a teacher with a soft voice. Girls are concerned about having a good relationship with their teacher and are adversely affected if they ‘don’t like’ the teacher. Boys are less concerned. Girls are more likely to do homework in order to please the teacher, boys do not do this! Girls are more likely to ask for help, boys will only do so as a last resort. Boys like hierarchies, so to be successful with boys, a
“Boys like competition and fi nd it motivating, even if they
Brain research, much of it linked in the past fi ve years to MRI scanning, has shown that the left hemisphere of the brain is clearly specialised for language functions in men, while women use both sides of their brains for language. Also, while men’s brains contain large
lose. Boys systematically overestimate their ability, girls underestimate
teaching and learning”
BARNABY LENON
Headmaster,
Harrow School
amounts of protein coded with the Y chromosome, women’s brains are rich in material coded with the X chromosome. This chromosome affects how the brain develops – ie differently. The brains of girls develop quicker than the brains of boys. Girls are fully mature by the age of 22, boys by the age of 30, and the differences between the brains of
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teacher has to establish the fact that he or she is at the top of the hierarchy. Boys like drills more than girls. Boys are more likely to take risks and need to be protected from their inability to judge the consequences of taking such risks. Boys are less interested in literature which requires them to think about feelings. Girls prefer fi ction, boys prefer non-fi ction. Girls prefer characters, boys prefer books about action. Because they underestimate their abilities, girls need to be encouraged. Boys need to be pushed to understand that they can do better. Boys respond best to clear rules, clear deadlines and punishments. Girls respond best to explanations based on feelings. Because girls mature earlier than
their ability. Girls also work harder. T ese diff erences have implications for
boys and have better work habits, boys tend to be outclassed by girls in co-ed schools. Teenage boys have fragile self- esteem and they give up the struggle to
compete by withdrawing. Co-ed schools tend to reinforce gender stereotypes because in co-ed schools, girls behave in the way they think girls should behave and boys behave in the way they think boys should
behave. In co-ed schools, girls are less likely to opt to study physics, boys are less likely to opt for modern languages or literature. In co-ed schools, girls are much less likely to play the trumpet, boys are less likely to play the fl ute. A recent survey conducted by the Girls’ Schools
Association shows that, compared to all girls nationally, ✒
SUMMER 2010 FIRST ELEVEN 25
PHOTO: BEECHWOOD SACRED HEART SCHOOL, RODDY PAINE
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