‘I feel like I can be myself’: How some co-ed schools have embraced segregated classes for boys and girls
Some co-ed schools have a secret weapon pitting them head-to-head with high-performing single-sex schools – they hold segregated classes for girls and boys. But does it work?
Single-sex schools have long had an academic edge on their co-ed counterparts, but a growing number of mixed-gender schools have a secret weapon – segregated classes for boys and girls.
School leaders say separate classes for girls and boys in co-ed schools boosts learning, outcomes and classroom harmony.
Teachers say parents are increasingly asking for gender-segregated classes, particularly for the benefit of girls in the middle years of high school.
One long-term proponent of the practice is Pittwater House in NSW, which has followed a unique “twin-schooling” model since 1975.
Against the backdrop of co-ed campus and activities throughout the school, preps and year ones are in mixed-gender classes, but are separated into single sex classes from year 2 to year 8. There is a gradual integration from year 9 and 10, with co-ed electives and single-sex classes, and fully co-ed classes in years 11 and 12.
Principal and CEO Nancy Hillier said the school aimed to “provide the right environment at the right time for students”.
“It allows the teachers to tailor the lessons to how each gender learns best,” she said. “Boys won’t be always told to tone it down, and girls have a chance to talk more and ask more questions.”
Dr Hillier said the co-ed environment “allows students to be prepared for life beyond school”.
“The benefits are very clear – our students are more confident, engaged and participatory,” she said.
Another school separating boys and girls is Mentone Grammar in Melbourne’s southern suburbs, which has follows a “together-apart-together” program. From year 5 to year 9, students learn in single-gender classes.
Principal Andy Muller said this “allows teachers to use approaches that best suit each age and stage, and to discuss gender-specific issues in a more comfortable setting”.
“Teachers also grow professionally by tailoring their practice. Students tell us they feel more confident in this environment, and it leads to more personalised teaching and stronger overall learning and personal growth,” he said.
A third is Tintern Grammar in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, which follows a parallel learning model where girls and boys are together in the early learning centre, separate from prep to year 9, then come together in years 10 to 12.
Principal Brad Fry said the approach offered “the best of both worlds”.
“Single-gender classes are age and stage appropriate for optimal learning. Boys and girls learn differently, and this model supports that,” he said.
Tintern Grammar twin siblings Nate and Niamh Hookey, both in year 9, have been learning separately since coming to the school.
Nate said he enjoyed all boys’ classes “as we like to do different things and learn in different ways, such as being very hands-on”.
“Next term, we go on camp together, which will be great to for us all to get to know each other before we go into co-ed classes next year,” he said.
Niamh said she felt “confident to be able to speak up” in all-girls classes.
“I feel like I can ask more questions because I don’t feel nervous. I feel like I can be myself,” she said.
What do the experts say?
Learning scientist Greg Donoghue, a research fellow from the University of Melbourne, said there “may be differences in hormones, maturity or development rates in boys and girls to justify separate classes”.
However, he said single-sex or co-ed classes “don’t impact on academics”.
“The biggest determinant of academic outcomes is the quality of the teacher, not the gender make-up of the class,” he said.
Helen Proctor, Professor of Education at the University of Sydney, said there wasn’t clear research showing that co-ed or single-sex classes are best.
“The evidence is confusing and sometimes strategies such as separating genders work, but it’s hard to know whether that’s the reason for the improvement,” she said.
Professor Proctor said such issues had been discussed “since the 1980s when people started worrying about whether mixed or single-sex classes were best”.
She said the separation of boys and girls into different classes peaked in the middle school years.
“Educators do it because they feel these are the most challenging kids to teach in these years and segregating makes it easier. Other schools may separate boys and girls for other reasons such as that there are wildly imbalanced numbers, such as 75 per cent of boys,” she said.
What about state schools?
A spokesperson for the SA Department of Education said it’s up to state schools to hold separate lessons on gender when it best meets the needs of their students and their community.
Some schools separate students, including Urrbrae Agricultural High School which offers girls-only classes in male-dominated subjects such as woodworking.
In Queensland, some public schools may have single-gender classes as a targeted strategy to support students’ academic and social development, but no data is kept by the Department of Education.
The NSW Department of Education said principals, “in consultation with parents, carers and students, consider both co-educational and single-sex learning opportunities to maximise the effectiveness of teaching and learning”.
The Victorian Department of Education said government schools are able to make their own decisions about classroom organisation.
More Coverage
Originally published as ‘I feel like I can be myself’: How some co-ed schools have embraced segregated classes for boys and girls
Unprecedented court ruling stops school expelling boy with ADHD
