There are many reasons why we are so passionate about the education of girls. Here are some of them:-

• Girls can focus on the learning experience. In a co-ed situation girls can lose   out to boys who tend to dominate teacher time.
• Girls are more likely to take intellectual risks and be less passive in a single sex classes especially in their teenage years. They prefer to solve problems by teamworking.
• Subject choices are not polarised into traditional male and female subjects.
• Girls grow in self-esteem and confidence without constantly being placed under social pressure from boys. They have the space and security in which to build up their self-esteem and confidence in their own abilities as individuals.
• Girls mature physically, mentally and emotionally earlier than boys and are not held back in a single sex environment.
• Girls can have many opportunities for leadership roles in single sex schools.

Jane Carwithen, Head of Saint Martin’s, is a member of the Girls’ Schools Association. You will find their website of interest and it gives you more information on the benefits of girls’ education. www.gsa.uk.com/why-a-girls-school/

Parents may be interested to look at My Daughter, a website run by the GSA which provides expert guidance on raising and educating girls; www.mydaughter.co.uk.  Copies of their latest newsletters are available here:  March 2013, October 2012, July 2012, May 2012.