It is a big decision to choose a school where your daughter will grow and flourish  through the next five years. Whilst moving to secondary school is an exciting time, it can also be an anxious one. You want your daughter to be happy and safe and then develop her character and confidence to be able to achieve her full potential. 

When investigating which school best suits your daughter best, the most available, the most important consideration is. A good school is a good school. There are good co-ed schools and good single sex schools. But you can also find disadvantages of co-ed schools and disadvantages of all-girl schools. All schools are different, and some schools will be a better fit for each child than others.

Research has proven that girls thrive in a single sex environment; it is well documented that girls do better academically in all girls schools, they also are more confident. We are able to offer a learning environment dedicated to girls’ learning needs and preferences, free from gender-stereotyping and free from distraction.

Newland School for Girls in Hull have been educating girls for over 100 years and have seen the benefits of single-sex education. 

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Teaching style to suit girls

In co-education schools, teachers have a bias towards the males in the classroom. They have been shown to be more attentive to boys and call on the boys more often. They also interact with the boys more by a margin of 10 to 30 percent. This means in a mixed classroom; girls tend to get less attention and are less likely to speak out in class. 

Boys also show higher levels of inappropriate behaviours and have more disruptive tendencies which can make it difficult for girls to learn in a classroom with boys as girls tend to be more introspective.Having consistent teaching with fewer disruptions will be more conducive to a learning environment. 

Girls tend to favour discussion-based learning and at an all-girls school, teachers can apply this to their classrooms to encourage engagement.Studies have shown in an all-girls school, girls got almost 96% more feedback on assignments and course work compared to 80% at mixed schools. 

Headteacher at Newland, Vicky Callaghan says, “Our girls value highly the support they receive from teachers, the challenge they receive in lessons, and the tolerance all students have for each other.”

 

Better results

Pupils at an all-girls school tend to get better results, are more likely to continue their education, and have higher engagement than at mixed schools. In England, girls at single-sex state schools got better GCSE results than those in mixed schools.  Pupils with five good GCSEs including English and maths accounted for 75% at single-sex schools but only 55% at mixed schools. 

At Newland School for Girls, Newland has recently celebrated their best results with 71% with four or more GCSEs, and 52% with five or more GCSEs. 

Not only do girls tend to get better results at an all-girls school but they are more likely to continue their education. The Girls’ School Association reported over 94% of girls from girls schools go on to higher education.

Girls at an all-girls school had higher achievement levels and more positive attitudes towards school than those in co-education. When pupils are more successful, they tend to have higher school engagement levels and enjoy being in school and participate. Pupils with higher engagement levels tend to be more academically successful.

 

Gender stereotypes

At a mixed sex school, gender stereotypes can be enforced whereas at an all-girls school, girls do not have these limitations. Girls at single-sex schools were more likely to study science and 70% more girls in single-sex schools took maths than the national average. 

For science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), girls’ school graduates are six times more likely to consider majoring in these subjects than co-education. This shows that when girls aren’t mixed with boys, they have more freedom to do subjects they are interested in whether they are seen as male-dominated or not.

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Confidence

When girls aren’t mixed with boys, they are less concerned about their image at school. More will speak up at school and over 88% of girls’ school students said they felt comfortable being themselves at school. 

This environment helps girls focus on their studies instead of worrying about how they come across or what they look like. Newland’s Headteacher says, “Building confidence and self-esteem are key factors to attaining success in your daughter’s education. It is not hard therefore to comprehend why girls thrive in single sex schools.”

Leadership

When the typical gender stereotypes aren’t enforced at schools, more girls are allowed to be leaders. Among girls’ school graduates, 93% say they were offered greater leadership opportunities. An all-girls school inspires leadership and a place for girls to realise their potential. 

Newland has a strong programme of student leadership covering a range of roles from whole school, to house, to different subject and pastoral and students accept that responsibility.  These opportunities are helpful in shaping girls to be able to deal with relationships when they enter the workplace.

 

Ambition

Girls are less likely to enrol at elite universities than boys of similar abilities. This shows the disadvantage girls already face when it comes to their ambition for their future. Pupils who were driven and ambitious achieved results on average half a grade higher in each GCSE. 

At an all-girls school, the pupils are encouraged to do their best which is why nearly 80% of them said their classes challenge them to achieve their full academic potential. 100% of Newland students have the ambition to continue their education post-16.

It is important that the gap in gender is bridged to support girls in their ambition. At an all-girls school, this can be addressed because they are not competing with high achieving boys. 

 

Happiness

School is not just about learning, it’s about being happy to go there every day. 

Single-gender classrooms can result in increased levels of student satisfaction and 90% of girls reported they felt supported by other students compared to 73% at mixed schools. 

At Newland, as part of the Thrive Trust, Ofsted reported that it feels like a community. “A caring environment where pupils feel supported, and parents say their children feel their children’s’ voices are listened to.”

 

Conclusion

Both research and anecdotal evidence shows positive benefits for single-sex education which is why Newland School is one of the highest achieving schools in Yorkshire and in the top 10% of schools in Hull. 

This is seen not only academically but in many other ways that can prepare girls for life outside of school. 

While there are many benefits to choosing an all-girls school, it must be the right fit for your daughter. Newland’s Headteacher says ‘single sex education is not, I believe, an indifferent choice. Few would dispute that boys and girls are wired differently and consequently develop both physically and emotionally at different speeds, have different learning styles, as well as diverse motivating factors to inspire. As a single sex school we have the advantage of being able to offer teaching styles, subject choices, sporting opportunity and a full extra-curricular programme, which is entirely focussed on girls.’ and is the perfect place for your daughter to raise her dreams.