School merger proposal fans co-education debate

Randwick Girls High School in Sydney’s eastern suburbs has become the latest battleground in the co-ed versus single sex education debate.

Randwick Girls High School student Mary-Jone Whirisky, 13 and her mother Nikita are both happy with the school the way it is. Picture: John Feder

Randwick Girls High School in Sydney’s eastern suburbs has ­become the latest battleground in the co-ed versus single-sex education debate, as a proposed ­merger with its male counterpart divides students and parents.

The NSW government has floated the possibility the girls public school could fuse with Randwick Boys High School, provoking a backlash from some sections of the school community who argue it would lead to poorer learning outcomes.

The proposal comes amid a growing preference towards co-ed education in the private sector with a string of one-time same-sex schools opening their doors to the opposite sex including Barker College, Marist College and likely the Cranbrook School, sparking concern the trend may be spilling into the public system.

Randwick Girls is the only all-female school in the area and a vital alternative in Sydney’s well-heeled, private school-saturated eastern suburbs.

NSW has 45 public single-sex schools, by far the most in the country, while Victoria has only seven and South Australia two.

Randwick Girls High School Parents and Carers member Lucy Bloom, whose daughter Sheba is in year 9 at the school, said she was strongly opposed to the merger as was the majority of the committee.

“When my daughter started at Randwick Girls the first thing she said at the end of her first day was, ‘the best thing about it is there are no-boys in any of my classes’,” she said. “It’s not what I expected her to say at all.

“My middle child is doing year 12 at co-ed school and so much of the time is spent getting the boys under control, girls just do better without boys in the classroom.”

Alliance of Girls Schools Australasia executive office Loren Bridge said girls became “collateral damage” in the shift to co-­education as research showed girls did better in single-sex schools while many believe boys do better in mixed schools.

“Girls do way better in a girls-only environment; it’s about confidence,” she said.

“It gives girls the confidence to use their voice and speak up.”

Mary-Jone Whirisky, 13, who is in year 8 at Randwick Girls, said she benefited from the all-female environment though she was open to having “different people at the school”.

“It’s good because girls can be girls … and boys would be distracting,” she said. “It’s a safe space and they really support us.”

Her mother, Nikita Whirisky, said they were “extremely happy” with the school and how it had embraced her daughter who has Aboriginal and Torres Strait ­Islander heritage and given her ­support and opportunities.

“Everyone is very supportive of her dreams and goals with lots of constructive mentorship, coaching, excursions,” she said.

Stephen Menagh, whose 16-year-old daughter attends Randwick Girls, said he was in favour of moving to co-ed as his son got on “famously” with girls his age and would benefit from the social aspect. “I think girls tend to be a better influence on boys,” he said.

Former student Rosalie Breen who graduated in the class of 2009 said she was opposed to the merger as she would not have been able to be as “carefree” and “independent” in a co-ed environment.

NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said the government was committed to “working with local families to improve ­access to co-ed schools for those in single-sex school catchments”.

The consultation on the possible merger will be available to parents next year, and will put the option of extending co-ed school zones to provide more options to parents in the eastern suburbs.