North Hampshire Lifestyle Sep - Oct 2021

Girls’ schools today
Donna Stevens, chief executive of the Girls’ Schools Association, on the reality of girls’ schools today
Girls’ schools are very much alive and well
and a thriving part of the UK’s education
provision. But don’t just take my word for
it - take a look at the evidence and visit your
local girls’ school.
Around half a million secondary school
aged children are educated in single-sex
schools in England, a significant proportion
of all school aged children. What is perhaps
more interesting is that the majority are
in girls’ schools, meaning co-ed schools
typically have more boys than girls.
What this means in practice is that girls’
schools, and the benefits they bring,
attract significant numbers of girls and
their parents. I know from talking to head
teachers that parents who set aside any
lingering assumptions to visit their local
girls’ school are frequently bowled over by
the contemporary, lively and highly relevant
education that’s on offer.
Girls-only schools provide freedom from
gender stereotypes, where girls can grow
into themselves without feeling under
pressure to conform to gender-weighted
expectations. New research+ has shown
that girls in girls’ schools are also more
confident and emotionally in control - these
are environments which enable girls to grow
in confidence so that, when it’s time, they
are better placed to take on the demands of
the adult world.
Academically, data from the Department
for Education shows that pupils in girls’
schools perform better at both key stages
4 and 5, which equates to GCSE and A
Level in the English school system. In girls’
schools there is no such thing as a girls’
subject or a boys’ subject and girls are
free to follow their inclinations with little
of the pressure they might otherwise feel.
The results are evident, with girls’ school
students significantly more likely to study
STEM (science, technology, engineering &
maths) subjects – nearly three times more
likely for physics and further maths and
almost twice as likely for computer science.
On average, girls in girls’ schools also
achieve almost a grade higher at A Level
than girls who attend co-ed schools.
Girls’ school students are more likely to take
up sport, which isn’t surprising when you
consider that, with only girls in the gym and
on the sports field, their physical confidence
has space to grow. Every girl has every
opportunity to become a leader, a form
captain, a Head of House. They learn not
just how to shoulder responsibility, but also
how to take risks, inspire and lead others.
Our schools see the fruits of this all the
time. Students win awards and go on
to become confident, high achievers in
business, the arts, academia, and sport.
Among our alumnae our Economist editorin-chief
Zanny Minton-Beddoes, actress
and activist Emma Watson, Everyone’s
Invited activist Soma Sara, anthropologist
and TV presenter Professor Alice Roberts,
award-winning astrophysicist Dame Jocelyn
Bell Burnell, Olympic champions Alex
Danson MBE and Helen Glover MBE, and
Paralympic gold medallist Ellie Robinson
MBE.
The school you choose for your daughter
has to feel right. We are fortunate, in the UK,
to have an excellent choice of schools of all
shapes, sizes and locations. The fact that
girls’ schools continue to thrive in such a
diverse environment is an indication of their
great strength and expertise in giving girls a
highly relevant, 21st century education.
Main image: Withington Girls’ School
Bottom left: St James School
Below right: Norwich High School for
Girls
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