INTERACTING WITH THE OTHER SEX It’s important that children attending a single-sex school have the chance to interact with the opposite sex. “If you are looking at a single-sex school, you should be asking how do they interact, what opportunities are there – and not just social opportunities, but opportunities such as debating with nearby schools that have pupils of the opposite sex,” says Elizabeth Hewer. “That’s important, and that’s something that single-sex schools such as mine take very seriously, so that, when pupils get to university, they are able to be very comfortable in an academic and social setting with people of the opposite sex.”


THE RIGHT SCHOOL


Maybe the question should be not about the gender cohort of the school but about the character and ethos of the school. “In my view, belonging is the thing that matters most when you’re thinking about choosing a school for your child,” says Sarah Thomas.


Elizabeth Hewer agrees. “Schools are all remarkably


similar in some respects: we all teach maths, we all teach English, we all do sports, we all do music, we all do drama. You will read many websites that say ‘we educate the whole child, it’s about an all-round education’, and I’m sure that parents see many of these mantras time and time again. And therefore I think that what is most important for parents is identifying what makes each school different. “One of the things that we are is an all-girls school. And that goes some way to explaining and describing the environment in which we are, but of course it’s one of many things, and it can be quite dangerous and misleading to group schools into single sex and coed.” “I don’t like that pink brain/blue brain stuff at all,” Sarah Thomas says. “If you believe it, girls have to be taught maths


and science very slowly, and boys have to be taught everything using a megaphone. So you can believe that if you want, or we can talk about what matters, the individuals. “I think the point is that it’s all about belonging and where your child feels comfortable – and where you, too, feel comfortable with how your child is learning and growing. I would not get caught up in the single-sex-or-coed farrago of nonsense! I would simply look at good schools and then see which is the one that fits your child.”


FULFILLING POTENTIAL


Frances King, head of Mill Hill, a coeducational day and boarding school in North London, has experience of running both single-sex and coeducational schools. “The key issue that comes to my mind regarding the question of gender,” she says, “is how well the school is run. Schools come in many shapes, sizes and combinations, but each institution will want to make sure that every child is welcomed and given ample opportunity to fulfil his or her potential.


“Our school welcomes boys and girls but, due to historic


and geographical issues, continues to be boy heavy in terms of numbers. Whilst we wish to work toward a more balanced intake to become fully coeducational, we believe we have a firm commitment to each boy or girl who is here now to provide a welcoming environment. “To take this forward, we have signed up for Opening Doors, a scheme run by the Institute of Physics, which focuses on finding the most effective way to reduce gender imbalance in attainment and progress, and in career and subject choice. “We are working with the principles set out in this


programme to engage staff and students in building an inclusive school culture. As a school, we want to be able to say to each pupil that here, you can be yourself and do anything.”


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