‘I have never seen so many students cry in the hall’

A sudden decision to merge two single-sex schools in the eastern suburbs has blindsided current and former students who say the move will benefit boys’ educational outcomes at the expense of girls.

Last week, the government announced plans to merge Randwick Girls’ and Randwick Boys’ High into one co-educational school in 2025 after decades of deliberation over a possible merger between the adjoining single-sex campuses.

Year 12 students Keira McNeill (left) and Amy Simmonds with former 1992 captain Sandi Kolbe.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

After the news broke, some students broke down in tears in the school hall, while others moved to set up an online petition campaigning to reverse the decision, which said the move would reduce parents’ choice when it came to single-sex schooling in the area.

“It has been statistically proven that girls perform better in single-sex education,” it said.

“In a society that is constantly discussing female empowerment and breaking down the patriarchy, why are we making a decision that only truly benefits male education and compromises female education?”

Randwick Boys is sitting at 60 per cent capacity with 675 students enrolled while Randwick Girls’ is at 73 per cent capacity with 866 students. A majority of primary school parents support having a co-ed option available to them.

A proposal was floated in 2018 to retain the girls’ school but turn the boys’ campus co-ed– but that was subsequently rejected by the NSW Department of Education. The girls’ school has historically been opposed to any merger.

Year 12 captain Keira McNeill, 18, said she thought the decision to combine the two schools in just over 12 months’ time was rushed.

“I have never seen so many students cry in the hall ... They’re going to merge the schools quicker than they gave us renovations to the bathrooms,” she said.

“We support the idea of co-ed but not at the cost of the only single-sex public high school in the eastern suburbs.”

Labor promised the eastern suburbs a new co-ed high school before the state election in March. Education Minister Prue Car told Sky News in a television interview last November that she would not be shutting down schools so long as they suited their communities.

A 2018 proposal to enrol girls in the boys’ school was rejected.Credit: James Alcock, Louise Kennerley

“We’re certainly not going to be closing any single-sex school or anything like that ... something that we’ve said we would do in the first term of government, is we find a way to build a co-ed high school in the eastern suburbs because they only have the option of a single-sex public high school at the moment available to them [in certain parts of the eastern suburbs],” she said.

On Monday, a spokesperson for Car said the merger decision was informed by community consultation which elicited more than 6000 survey responses. It found most parents and carers supported co-ed options.

“The community consultations found a majority of parents and carers support co-education. In recognition of the preferences of some students and families, the new co-educational school will also provide opportunities for single-sex-focused classes and activities,” the spokesperson said.

Surveys conducted by PR firm Newgate last year found half of parents at Randwick Girls’ wanted to keep single-sex schooling but 76 per cent of parents surveyed with children in primary schools in the eastern suburbs said they would prefer to send their child to a co-ed secondary school.

Member for Coogee Marjorie O’Neill said the decision last week to transition these schools to co-education reflected the desire of the majority of parents in the electorate.

“In addition to creating a co-educational option for families, the change will increase the range of subjects and extracurricular opportunities for students,” she said.

Independent MP for Sydney Alex Greenwich, whose electorate borders Randwick, said while $40 million to pay for upgrades to combine the two schools was welcome, it did not negate the need for a new comprehensive co-ed high school. He will meet with federal MP for Wentworth Allegra Spender and Car to discuss the issue of a new high school next month.

“Planning needs to begin now because we are running out of possible locations,” he said.

Greenwich led the campaign for the new $135 million Inner Sydney High School on the site of the former Cleveland Street High and previously flagged that Edgecliff Commercial Centre should be considered as a possible site for a new school.

Former Randwick Girls’ student Sandi Kolbe, whose two daughters attended the school, said the community had been promised a new co-ed high school and the merger decision would mean single-sex education would only be accessible to families for those in selective schools or those who could afford private school fees.

“We’re just really disappointed as it reduces education options for the future,” she said.

Current student Ruby Borer, 16, said the school nurtured an environment where female confidence and courage were encouraged.

“This is not about co-ed versus single-sex education but rather a matter of ruining a thriving all-girls school in an attempt to help an all-boys school,” she said.

The eastern suburbs area already has a number of co-ed high schools including Rose Bay Secondary College, South Sydney High in Maroubra, JJ Cahill Memorial High in Mascot and Matraville Sports High.

Randwick Girls vice-captain Amy Simmonds, 18, said many students had transferred to the school after negative experiences in co-ed schools.

“My school is a big community. Lots of girls feel safe to be who they want to be,” she said.

A Department of Education spokesman said that according to extensive community consultation, future secondary students and their families wanted to send their children to a co-ed school.

“The vast majority of boys and girls in NSW schools are successfully learning together. Schools work hard to support students and their wellbeing, with strong behaviour expectations across all schools,” he said.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.