UK School Choices: All Boys’ / All Girls’ School or Mixed School Education?

7th January 2020

Modern parents have a certain pursuit for high-level education. More and more parents have decided to let their children study abroad. However, it is usually found that parents feel confused about the school choices that they have: all boys’, all girls’ or mixed schools? What is the difference between a single gender school and a mixed school? Let us discuss this topic together and hopefully, we can shed some lights on your possible choice.

In fact, the boys’ and girls’ schools evolved from the aristocratic schools with a long history in the UK. Only later on the schools were open to the public. The first mixed school didn’t appear until the end of the 19th century. Education specialists in the UK believed that learning in a single gender school can cultivate gender-associated characteristics. Some research shows that boys and girls learn at a different pace as they grow up in different learning environments and that they have developed a different structure in their brain.

Statistics also indicated that 70% of the top 100 private boarding schools in the UK are single gender schools. Eton College, which is also known as the “the chief nurse of England’s statesmen”, is also a male public school in the UK. Other data shows that 90% of the top 10 schools in GCSE are single gender schools. It is believed that the boys’ schools focus more on the gentleman cultivation and leadership development in the UK. Boys’ boarding schools will also arrange more sport activities in sports, such as equestrian and tennis, and focus on improving the team spirit and cooperation skills in particular in outdoor activities, which will be a very important experience for boys in their future career and life development.

In terms of girls’ schools, schools normally provide more etiquette courses apart from their academic subjects. The etiquette courses offer classes such as dance, music, and table manners etc. This is to cultivate the temperament of the female students so that they may be more elegant in their daily life. Boys and girls have very different thinking patterns and problem-solving technique. If children were to receive the most appropriate education for them based on their gender, such as the choices for sports and extracurricular activities, it would probably be able to yield twice the result with half the effort. When entering adolescence, either boys or girls attending single gender schools can also effectively eliminate social pressure and unnecessary tension, so that students focus more on their studies.

Certainly, there are also some advantages for mixed boarding schools. The advantages include better social integration, early social adaptation, learning to get along with the opposite sex, as well as the development of basic social skills including gender co-existence and mutual respect.

No matter you choose single gender school or mixed school, KnewSTEP Education hopes that parents may consider their children’s own personality, physical and mental maturity, and their cultural adaptability before they make the decision of the school selection process. Parents should also fully explain and communicate with their children about the possible options, and respect their children’s ideas and thoughts. In addition, parents should also try to fully understand the specific schools’ curricula and environment before making the decision. After all, only the most suitable school for your children is the best school.

Learn more information about our study aboard package and Pre-boarding School Empowerment programme, by visiting here

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Photo Credit:
1. http://image.baidu.com
2. https://www.charterhouse.org.uk/
3. http://www.westonbirt.org/
4. https://www.waiscz.com/web/secondary/news-events/news-detail/58
5. https://www.brightoncollege.org.uk/
6. https://www.roedean.co.uk/