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Bradfield College is one of the leading co-educational boarding schools in Berkshire, UK. Its Head, Jeremy Quartermain, reflects on the benefits of educating boys and girls together, drawing on his own experiences in single-sex and mixed school environments. In this article, he explores the role of co-education in preparing young people for modern life, while considering the continuing place of single-sex schools across the UK.

 

Reflections on Single-Sex Schooling

 

I often joke that my adolescent social awkwardness was attributable to my Mum’s decision to send me to a single-sex school. I like to fool myself that the debonair matinee idol that resided deep within my inner self was cruelly suppressed by growing up in an almost exclusively male environment. Of course, it is often tempting to tell ourselves such self-serving myths in order to explain away our insecurities and shortcomings.

When it comes to gender and education, parents are blessed insomuch as they may choose between a number of competing models. Of course, each model attracts its evangelical disciples and entrenched supporters. However, it is difficult for any of us to approach such matters from an entirely dispassionate perspective – given the long shadows that our childhood experiences tend to exert over our thinking on such matters.

My own experience is probably quite relatable to people my age or older. For some of my education, I attended (on an assisted place) a single-sex independent school that seemed to me to be a resolutely masculine sort of place. The last vestiges of muscular Christianity resonated triumphantly through the long and echoey corridors. It was an environment which seemed to celebrate mental toughness and physical prowess above all else. Lessons on compassion and emotional intelligence did not appear anywhere on the curriculum, and we were certainly not encouraged to be in touch with our feelings. Still, I think this was reflective of the fact that some of our most impressive teachers were tough old souls who had seen active service during the Second World War. Their outlooks had been formed in a very different age.

Early Experiences of Co-Education

 

Later, I attended the Sixth Form at Colchester Royal Grammar School, and this provided a much more genteel experience. It was an enormously happy period of my life and this was because I felt increasingly comfortable in my own skin. The school enjoyed a strong partnership with Colchester Girls’ High School, and there were annual joint productions. Also, I attended the Junior Guildhall School of Music and Drama and played in various youth orchestras. Consequently, there were plenty of opportunities to develop meaningful friendships beyond school. I think that there was a sensitive and thoughtful side to me that embraced the opportunity to consider life from a growing variety of contrasting perspectives. These adolescent friendships enabled me to become a more multidimensional and empathetic person.

Interestingly, our Deputy Head Pastoral, Richard Penny, observes that such connections tend to enable boys to learn to show emotion more openly, develop friendships more deeply and become more reflective and considerate in their use of language. Additionally, Richard points out that within a co-educational setting, girls tend to become more confident in terms of their willingness to take risks, and their friendship groups tend to lose a little of their intensity.

I started my teaching career in the Middle East where I initially worked for a Lebanese network of schools. In this predominantly Islamic setting, boys and girls were separated by a two metre wide strip running down the centre of the classroom. However, this demarcation zone had remarkably little impact upon the inclusive nature of the classroom or the warmth of relationships between boys and girls.

Back in the UK, I taught in a ‘diamond structured school’ with boys and girls being educated in separate classes between the ages of 11-16. This together-apart-together model is particularly popular in south Essex, and Brentwood School, Forest School and New Hall School have all adopted this approach. Some argue that this provides the best of both worlds and yet when I was tasked with providing empirical evidence to support the merits of this approach, I struggled to find anything substantive.

Why Co-Educational Schools Matter Today

 

It is impossible to deny that a co-educational setting, by its very nature, provides a markedly more inclusive environment than a single-sex offering. After all, equality, diversity and inclusion are best achieved when nobody is excluded on account of their ethnicity, gender or sexuality. Furthermore, such an environment provides a more authentic and useful preparation for adulthood. Unless our children decide to enter a closed monastic order, it is highly unlikely that they will be entering a single-sex place of work. Boys and girls clearly benefit from learning how to work together effectively. Furthermore, if life is viewed exclusively or predominantly through a masculine or feminine optic, then an extraordinary amount of intellectual and cultural knowledge may well remain unexplored or poorly understood.

Some will argue that a single-sex school provides the opportunity to nuance teaching and learning in such a way that it better serves the needs of boys or girls. I would contend that truly outstanding teachers successfully adapt their teaching to best suit the multifarious needs of all learners within their classes. The positive value-added scores achieved by Bradfield students (across GCSEs, A levels and the IBDP) would suggest that our teachers know our children remarkedly well and pedagogically connect with them as individuals. In any case, we should surely move beyond tired and dated generalisations about cognitive preferences, learning styles and gendered expectations. Many of these assumptions evolved during the 1970s and have since been largely discredited.

When it comes to RSE lessons, we are very proud that Bradfield pupils are taught together for the vast majority of sessions. This provides an excellent opportunity to discuss challenging topics from a variety of perspectives and to reflect meaningfully upon each other’s lived experiences. This builds empathy, compassion, tolerance, and understanding. It is difficult to conclude that any of these discussions would be better conducted in segregated groups.

Blending Co-Educational and Boarding Life

 

Of course, boarding houses are single sex settings, so a school like Bradfield offers a very sensible blend of single-sex and co-educational aspects. Sports is another area which is almost entirely single sex. Consequently, in reality, Bradfield boys and girls spend a good deal of their lives in single-sex spaces.

Academic Success Beyond Gender

 

It is interesting to note that we do not have notably gender-biased subjects and nor is there a discernible difference between the academic performance of boys and girls within recent cohorts. We have equally high expectations for all of our pupils, and we challenge any gender stereotypes as and when they arise.

Finally, whilst this short piece might champion co-educational settings, there are many dazzlingly brilliant single-sex schools. Outstanding schools are outstanding schools because of the quality of their teaching and pastoral care and not because they include or exclude a specific gender. In any case, parents will often make decisions based upon deeply held cultural or religious considerations or simply on account of what ‘feels right’ for their child.

The Future of Single-Sex and Co-Educational Boarding Schools in the UK

 

Nationally, single-sex schools are in sharp decline, and I think that this is a tremendous shame as they undoubtedly suit some children superbly well. Any diminution of choice within the sector should be lamented. Many single-sex schools have recently announced that they will accept boys or girls, and it is an obvious recruitment lever to pull within a challenging and contracting market. Of course, such schools are keen to highlight the philosophical premise for their volte-face. Quite rightly, they point to the fact that society has changed immeasurably, and that a modern and progressive educational setting should be inclusive in every regard.

Choice is one of the defining hallmarks of our independence and I would argue that it is more important to protect the right to choose than to argue the odds about something which is dependent upon parental beliefs and what is in the best interests of each individual child.

Finally, I did rebel overcome the restraints of my male dominated childhood – if only by getting married and becoming the father of three daughters!

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