Single sex school
or mixed school?

The pros and cons explored

For many years there has been an ongoing debate about whether single sex or mixed education works best or delivers the higher results.

In years gone by, it was commonplace that single-sex education was the norm, however, these days in many countries single sex schools have all but vanished. The UK in particular, still offer the opportunity for single sex education and we look at the pros and cons. 

It is widely agreed that boys and girls learn in different ways and at a different speed, although this can be said for all children, as individuals have different capabilities and self-awareness, as well as different relationships, distractions and desires to learn. 

Arguments for a single sex school tend to include the following arguments.

• Girls “do better overall” in a girls-only school.

• Boys and girls develop in different ways and at different rates, requiring different teaching.

• In groups girls want to co-operate whereas boys want to dominate. Therefore, in a mixed group, girls will either hold back, or avoid the mixed group altogether.

• In a girls-only environment, girls are more likely to study and excel in traditional male subjects such as science, technology, engineering, maths (STEM).

• Boys and girls socialise mainly with their own gender in a mixed school.

• Boys and girls in a mixed school distract each other to the detriment of their studies.

Arguments for a mixed school education include.

• Boys “do better overall” in a mixed school.

• In the real world, men and women have to get along professionally and socially. A mixed school prepares them whereas a single sex school compromises this skill.

• Girls in a mixed school are more likely to try football and cricket. Boys in a mixed school are more likely to try dance, singing and drama.

• A boys-only school is testosterone fuelled and sport driven.

• The emotional intensity of a girls-only school leads to more bullying than in a mixed school.

Preferences for a single sex or mixed school education are based on social considerations not academic ones. 

Studies comparing the academic achievements in national exams of single sex and mixed schools are inconclusive and contradictory. Some studies may show one type of school outperforming the other in one year, but not over a number of years. Other studies fail to eliminate the impact of academic selection, among other things, in some of the test schools.