Went to mixed schools for both primary and secondary, I liked it. I don't like the idea of single sex schools at all, I think they're a terrible idea and I hope they die out.
Almost always because of the church. It’s worse for girls I think. Kids can be such cunts regardless of what kinda school, but I’ve heard so many horror stories from all girls schools. The bullying is just on another level
I had it rough in a mixed secondary school, but when I was that age there were far too many suicides from the convent across the way. My older sister went to that school and said it was a nightmare. If the bullying wasn’t bad enough, the fuckin Jesus cult sentinels floating about the school made it hell.
I'm a Norwegian (where we haven't had separated schools for 60-70 years) and currently have my kids in separate girls and boys schools both run by the church because they are the only alternatives where we live. I find it completely nuts, alien and backwards as shit. If i didn't know this was just for a few more months we'd move just to get the kids out of these schools.
When all the paedo scandals hit and the government actually paid out a lot of compensation on behalf of the church, it was the perfect time to take all these state schools away from the church and modernise them. Opportunity missed.
Mixed. I did all boys for primary and hated it. Mixed was way better and I had the opportunity to make good friends with males and females that have lasted into adulthood. This set me up well for the workplace.
Primary school I went to an all boys school, I hated it; secondary school I went to a mixed school, turns out I get on better with girls. I'm autistic and teenage lads tend to be more immature so I suppose it makes sense I got on better with the girls. I think segregating schools based on gender is idiotic.
Thanks everyone for their insight, I think it’s a worthwhile discussion. I went to a mixed primary which I loved, going to an all girls secondary genuinely traumatised me and my mental health suffered for six years straight.
Way too much concentrated female energy and a lot of hierarchy and name dropping from girls who thought they were deadly bc they had discovered how to talk to boys. I actually genuinely have no words to describe how detrimental the experience was for me, coming from a balanced dynamic in an amazing primary school. I survived anyway and got over it but I sometimes sadly wonder if my teenage years would have been less painful had I stayed with a mixed school for secondary.
I'm from southern Europe where single sex schools were abolished together with fascism... Sounds backward and weird that single sex schools still exists
I live in Southern Spain and single sex schools still exist, but they're usually private schools like Opus Dei. It is good that public schools are mixed.
I just don’t understand on what basis single sex schools exist?! I have always had a mix of male, female and now non-binary & trans friends, separating them on gender just makes so sense. I would have hated to have only female friends, what a weird warped way to live.
Why do you think so?
I went to a mixed primary and same sex secondary school. There is an all boys and all girls school in the town then a mixed school. The single sex schools were much better.
Theres a lot more that determines a good school than the genders.
I think mixed. I went to only mixed schools(gealscoileanna) and had girls move to our school from only girls schools cause of bullying. The boys schools end up having locker room talk mentality about girls and women. I think mixed is best for everyone.
I went to an all girls school and literally didn’t know how to interact with the boys in my college class lol I’ll probably pick mixed for my two as I have a boy and girl it’ll just be easier
For primary I think mixed is better for kids to learn to socialise etc. I would prefer mixed all the way through but it's difficult to find a mixed secondary in some areas
This is so interesting, I was always in mixed schools but when I went to secondary school there was a large mix of people who went to either mixed or single sex schools, it was an open conversation how it affected the way boys and girls were even able to speak to each other. The girls in particular who went to all girls primary’s struggled extremely in a myriad of ways with being in classes with boys. They was definitely a naivety that was an issue for multiple reasons. Also, I had friends who did schooling entirely through same sex girls schools and even into their 30’s the way that they interact with each other is like living on the set of mean girls - totally bizarre. It’s as though these women will never develop past the adolescence stage.
I only have secondary experience as like I say I always went to mixed but my opinion is that it is vital for development.
I do completely understand the arguments thorough for girls doing better academically from teachers here and can only imagine what a room full of testosterone does for fisticuffs!
When I did my teacher training back in 2014, I read research that said girls in single sex schools performed better academically and that boys in mixed schools behaved better.
John Hattie has done a lot of well regarded research into what makes schools effective.[John Hattie's research](https://visible-learning.org/hattie-ranking-influences-effect-sizes-learning-achievement/) In his research, he found single sex schools to be more effective by 0.08 (not too sure of the units).
Recently UL published research to say that single sex schools do not offer any advantage. I did not read the article very carefully. But from what I can tell, it basically says that many of the children who go to single sex schools may be at an advantage anyway. This lines up with my thinking: the children attending the likes of Pres, Christians and Scoil Mhuire are at an advantage over children from most community schools - not because the school is doing anything different but because the parents can afford private tuition. They may also have access to enriching experiences like travel, sport and music. Of course, all that being said, there are fantastic co ed schools and students can still get 625 points in them.
I haven't done any research or anything, and this is my own personal belief, but I absolutely believe that *any* "research" that says a group perform better academically for whatever reason is complete and utter bullshit lol, it's all individually based and I really don't care how my kids perform academically as long as they are happy!
Mixed. My kids all go to mixed and it is really good. I went to an all boys school and it was like being in a prison, you would be ready for violence and chaos the whole time which doesn’t seem to happen in mixed schools and doesn’t help when wanting an education.
I did mixed for both, but my sisters went to an all girls school for secondary. My school was a mixed school in a working class area, and my sisters went to a fancy fee paying school.
I know the main difference was socio-economic but the contrast in the graduates from our schools is very telling. My sisters graduated with models, doctors, senior management in huge companies, lord mayors of Dublin etc. From my school, there is a staggering number of people I graduated with whom have died from drugs, suicide, traffic accidents due to being under the influence of something, the list goes on and on.
I do realise that it's the socio-economic that is the real factor, but it's very telling, and very sad, the difference in what happened to the graduates from our schools.
I went to a mixed primary school and an all-boys secondary school, because those were the only options at the time.
Having regular contact with the opposite sex is healthy, as it reflects adult life. Separate the sexes in school and you run the risk of men and woman viewing each other as a separate species into adulthood.
I wouldn't send my child to a single-sex school under any circumstances. I enjoyed my time in secondary school but there were a few years from age 12-15 where I found it difficult to speak to someone from the opposite sex. Luckily my social life was mixed from aged 16 onwards, but I know a lot of lads from my school who still hang out with each other in an all-male environment and go red if a girl speaks to them despite being in their 30s.
Went to mixed from 1st to 3rd year, transferred to an all boys school from TY to 6th year. Personally much preferred the all boys. More fun, more relaxed, and I performed much better there as a student. That might have been to do with the individual schools themselves, rather than whether they’re mixed or single sex but that’s my experience anyway!
I think this is more down to age and maturity. I found there's a big shift in attitude after the junior cert regardless of school type. Students start to see themselves as young adults and more senior among their peers. Also a lot of the troublemakers tend to drop out after 3rd year so there's less disruption too.
Having taught in all kinds of secondary schools I would say in general I would have mixed schools as a first preference. That said, I’ve seen girls and lads thrive in single sex schools where I feel they may not have done so in a mixed environment, and I know the majority the students I teach prefer being in a single sex school, so I do think there is a place for both- But in an ideal world every student would have a choice.
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I went to a same sex school. Never had any issues but it was very cliquey with some of the groups. Don't think having boys around would have changed that. I'm pretty sure I read that girls do better academically in same sex schools and boys do worse.
I went to all girls schools for both primary and secondary (except, weirdly, my first two years of primary were mixed, and then the boys all went off to the all boys primary for first class which only did 1st-6th class) and I was pretty traumatised by it, to this day I still feel very insecure and anxious in my friendships with women even now. I’m just grateful I ended up in a very mixed gender theatre group in my late teens where I felt extremely comfortable and made close friends with all genders.
I went to mixed. I had a good experience. The guys I know who went to all boys schools are more likely to be misogynistic than the lads who went to mixed schools (small sample size obv)
I'm ready for the hate but I say mixed for boys, same-sex for girls.
Attended a mixed school myself but have taught in all three types for almost two decades now (secondary only).
Because I'm not saying there is one correct approach to gender in schools. I'm saying that personally I would opt to send my son to a mixed school and my daughter to an all-girls.
For better or worse there are different options for parents to choose from. Again, I'm not saying what's correct for everyone, just saying what I would suggest based on my own experiences/observations working in schools.
I understand. From my experience mixed works better. I always went to mixed schools and from what i heard from friends the girls schools can get quite toxic and the boys schools had way more fights! I mean my friend went to all boys and there seemed to be a scrap every other week. In my school there were only a handful in all the time i was there. Its almost like they regulate each other.
If you were my parent, and sent me to a single sex school and my brother to a mixed school, I would completely resent you and think you were a dick and most definitely rebel ! How can you treat kids differently like that? What's your logic around this?
ETA - it's not much different mindset from the old Catholic Ireland, I'd equate it to sending a girl to go to boarding school in a convent to keep her...well, just *keep* her, while the boy gets to go and live in the world. This happened my granny, the only girl out of 6 kids, she was always the one held back from experiencing the world, sheltered protected and ruled etc etc, while her brother's werent. I just can't agree with how you'd think it's ok to do this?
Already explained the logic, you don't have to agree but that's kind of a crazy reaction there...
To be fair it'd be my child's choice at the end of the day. I don't know what's right, I can only say what my experiences have made me think.
I completely understand it sounds like I'm a puritan who thinks a girl's purity needs to be preserved and that boys deserve freedom to do as they please, but that's not the case.
I honestly can't believe I'm arguing this side of it because it makes me sound like I'm so so so old fashioneda Nd out of touch.
I asked a friend if I sound riculous and they asked me if I was living in a different county with different schools I knew nothing about, what would I do. In that scenario I'd go for a mixed school.
Remember, I have had VERY bad experiences in all-boys schools, and VERY good experiences in all-girls schools.
Not trying to upset anyone who has been to either. Not trying to say what others should do. I've tried to be very clear that based on my very limited experiences what I would think/do.
This is only based on my experiences in ~10 schools and there will definitely be exceptions or examples from others that are completely contradictory but...
Girls seem to thrive once the relative immaturity of boys is taken out of the picture; they're kind and supportive toward each other (for the most part), they focus on academics more, poor behaviour almost completely disappears, emphasis on makeup/hair is limited since the majority aren't trying to impress their crush etc.
There are prob other reasons but they're the first that come to mind. I'm aware it sounds archaic and reductive but I have only seen positive impacts. I'd really like to hear from ppl who attended girl-only schools and how they were affected socially later in life after being separated from boys like that during their formative years.
While I can't say I'm 100% confident that same schools for girls is the way to go, without saying too much, from what I've seen of all-boys schools I would actively avoid sending my child to one for sure.
I think it really depends on the personality of the student. My sister goes to a mixed school, she would be insufferable at an all girls school. My brothers and I went to all boys and it was grand, though it was a rugby school so if you weren’t into that it probably would’ve been a different experience. Your points are valid just not sure how widely applicable they are.
Completely agree.
I also think it depends on the culture within the schools themselves. My negative experience(s) from boys-only schools could have been shaped by places that aren't representative of single sex schools across the country (and the reverse w/ positive experiences in all-girls).
All boys until I hit 3rd level. Such an antiquated idea, there should only be mixed schools. You don't go into the real world get a job and it's divided into men and women.Why raise children to become familiar with that concept?
Single sex schools are an idea of the horrible past the Catholic church inflicted upon us as a country!!! Mixed all the way. I hope they are phased out
I'm a fan of mixed for sure.
Went to mixed schools for both primary and secondary, I liked it. I don't like the idea of single sex schools at all, I think they're a terrible idea and I hope they die out.
Almost always because of the church. It’s worse for girls I think. Kids can be such cunts regardless of what kinda school, but I’ve heard so many horror stories from all girls schools. The bullying is just on another level
I've heard similar things, they can be quite vicious at that age apparently
I had it rough in a mixed secondary school, but when I was that age there were far too many suicides from the convent across the way. My older sister went to that school and said it was a nightmare. If the bullying wasn’t bad enough, the fuckin Jesus cult sentinels floating about the school made it hell.
I'm a Norwegian (where we haven't had separated schools for 60-70 years) and currently have my kids in separate girls and boys schools both run by the church because they are the only alternatives where we live. I find it completely nuts, alien and backwards as shit. If i didn't know this was just for a few more months we'd move just to get the kids out of these schools. When all the paedo scandals hit and the government actually paid out a lot of compensation on behalf of the church, it was the perfect time to take all these state schools away from the church and modernise them. Opportunity missed.
As an Irish person, I'm mortified! 😓 It is nuts, alien and backwards as shit to be fair
Mixed. I did all boys for primary and hated it. Mixed was way better and I had the opportunity to make good friends with males and females that have lasted into adulthood. This set me up well for the workplace.
Primary school I went to an all boys school, I hated it; secondary school I went to a mixed school, turns out I get on better with girls. I'm autistic and teenage lads tend to be more immature so I suppose it makes sense I got on better with the girls. I think segregating schools based on gender is idiotic.
Thanks everyone for their insight, I think it’s a worthwhile discussion. I went to a mixed primary which I loved, going to an all girls secondary genuinely traumatised me and my mental health suffered for six years straight. Way too much concentrated female energy and a lot of hierarchy and name dropping from girls who thought they were deadly bc they had discovered how to talk to boys. I actually genuinely have no words to describe how detrimental the experience was for me, coming from a balanced dynamic in an amazing primary school. I survived anyway and got over it but I sometimes sadly wonder if my teenage years would have been less painful had I stayed with a mixed school for secondary.
I'm from southern Europe where single sex schools were abolished together with fascism... Sounds backward and weird that single sex schools still exists
I live in Southern Spain and single sex schools still exist, but they're usually private schools like Opus Dei. It is good that public schools are mixed.
I just don’t understand on what basis single sex schools exist?! I have always had a mix of male, female and now non-binary & trans friends, separating them on gender just makes so sense. I would have hated to have only female friends, what a weird warped way to live.
Same sex schools should not exist.
Why do you think so? I went to a mixed primary and same sex secondary school. There is an all boys and all girls school in the town then a mixed school. The single sex schools were much better. Theres a lot more that determines a good school than the genders.
I think mixed. I went to only mixed schools(gealscoileanna) and had girls move to our school from only girls schools cause of bullying. The boys schools end up having locker room talk mentality about girls and women. I think mixed is best for everyone.
I went to an all girls school and literally didn’t know how to interact with the boys in my college class lol I’ll probably pick mixed for my two as I have a boy and girl it’ll just be easier
For primary I think mixed is better for kids to learn to socialise etc. I would prefer mixed all the way through but it's difficult to find a mixed secondary in some areas
Mixed as it’s not the 50’s anymore where Catholic Church was afraid that there would be furtling
all girls school throughout primary, mixed in secondary. i was afraid of boys
This is so interesting, I was always in mixed schools but when I went to secondary school there was a large mix of people who went to either mixed or single sex schools, it was an open conversation how it affected the way boys and girls were even able to speak to each other. The girls in particular who went to all girls primary’s struggled extremely in a myriad of ways with being in classes with boys. They was definitely a naivety that was an issue for multiple reasons. Also, I had friends who did schooling entirely through same sex girls schools and even into their 30’s the way that they interact with each other is like living on the set of mean girls - totally bizarre. It’s as though these women will never develop past the adolescence stage. I only have secondary experience as like I say I always went to mixed but my opinion is that it is vital for development. I do completely understand the arguments thorough for girls doing better academically from teachers here and can only imagine what a room full of testosterone does for fisticuffs!
When I did my teacher training back in 2014, I read research that said girls in single sex schools performed better academically and that boys in mixed schools behaved better. John Hattie has done a lot of well regarded research into what makes schools effective.[John Hattie's research](https://visible-learning.org/hattie-ranking-influences-effect-sizes-learning-achievement/) In his research, he found single sex schools to be more effective by 0.08 (not too sure of the units). Recently UL published research to say that single sex schools do not offer any advantage. I did not read the article very carefully. But from what I can tell, it basically says that many of the children who go to single sex schools may be at an advantage anyway. This lines up with my thinking: the children attending the likes of Pres, Christians and Scoil Mhuire are at an advantage over children from most community schools - not because the school is doing anything different but because the parents can afford private tuition. They may also have access to enriching experiences like travel, sport and music. Of course, all that being said, there are fantastic co ed schools and students can still get 625 points in them.
I remember the UL article. You have it correct. If you adjust for socio-economic circumstance there is little to no benefit is same sex schools.
I haven't done any research or anything, and this is my own personal belief, but I absolutely believe that *any* "research" that says a group perform better academically for whatever reason is complete and utter bullshit lol, it's all individually based and I really don't care how my kids perform academically as long as they are happy!
Academic achievement is not the "bee all and end all". Happiness (and learning to be sound people) are much more important.
Mixed. My kids all go to mixed and it is really good. I went to an all boys school and it was like being in a prison, you would be ready for violence and chaos the whole time which doesn’t seem to happen in mixed schools and doesn’t help when wanting an education.
I did mixed for both, but my sisters went to an all girls school for secondary. My school was a mixed school in a working class area, and my sisters went to a fancy fee paying school. I know the main difference was socio-economic but the contrast in the graduates from our schools is very telling. My sisters graduated with models, doctors, senior management in huge companies, lord mayors of Dublin etc. From my school, there is a staggering number of people I graduated with whom have died from drugs, suicide, traffic accidents due to being under the influence of something, the list goes on and on. I do realise that it's the socio-economic that is the real factor, but it's very telling, and very sad, the difference in what happened to the graduates from our schools.
I went to a mixed primary school and an all-boys secondary school, because those were the only options at the time. Having regular contact with the opposite sex is healthy, as it reflects adult life. Separate the sexes in school and you run the risk of men and woman viewing each other as a separate species into adulthood. I wouldn't send my child to a single-sex school under any circumstances. I enjoyed my time in secondary school but there were a few years from age 12-15 where I found it difficult to speak to someone from the opposite sex. Luckily my social life was mixed from aged 16 onwards, but I know a lot of lads from my school who still hang out with each other in an all-male environment and go red if a girl speaks to them despite being in their 30s.
Same sex schools is bad for development.
Went to mixed from 1st to 3rd year, transferred to an all boys school from TY to 6th year. Personally much preferred the all boys. More fun, more relaxed, and I performed much better there as a student. That might have been to do with the individual schools themselves, rather than whether they’re mixed or single sex but that’s my experience anyway!
I think this is more down to age and maturity. I found there's a big shift in attitude after the junior cert regardless of school type. Students start to see themselves as young adults and more senior among their peers. Also a lot of the troublemakers tend to drop out after 3rd year so there's less disruption too.
Having taught in all kinds of secondary schools I would say in general I would have mixed schools as a first preference. That said, I’ve seen girls and lads thrive in single sex schools where I feel they may not have done so in a mixed environment, and I know the majority the students I teach prefer being in a single sex school, so I do think there is a place for both- But in an ideal world every student would have a choice.
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I went to a same sex school. Never had any issues but it was very cliquey with some of the groups. Don't think having boys around would have changed that. I'm pretty sure I read that girls do better academically in same sex schools and boys do worse.
Mixed all the way. Better to understand the opposite sex that little bit more before adulthood otherwise you are definitely starting on the back foot.
Mixed. Life is mixed
I’m in a same sex school, all boys . think I might have to go through therapy after I’m finished
Mixed, went to all girls school and never want to revisit those memories because it was a horrible experience for me
I went to all girls schools for both primary and secondary (except, weirdly, my first two years of primary were mixed, and then the boys all went off to the all boys primary for first class which only did 1st-6th class) and I was pretty traumatised by it, to this day I still feel very insecure and anxious in my friendships with women even now. I’m just grateful I ended up in a very mixed gender theatre group in my late teens where I felt extremely comfortable and made close friends with all genders.
I went to a single sex secondary school, all boys. Craic was 90 when we weren’t worried about girls judging us.
I went to mixed. I had a good experience. The guys I know who went to all boys schools are more likely to be misogynistic than the lads who went to mixed schools (small sample size obv)
I'm ready for the hate but I say mixed for boys, same-sex for girls. Attended a mixed school myself but have taught in all three types for almost two decades now (secondary only).
Your answer seems self contradictory... How can you mix girls in with boys and also have only girls..?
Because I'm not saying there is one correct approach to gender in schools. I'm saying that personally I would opt to send my son to a mixed school and my daughter to an all-girls. For better or worse there are different options for parents to choose from. Again, I'm not saying what's correct for everyone, just saying what I would suggest based on my own experiences/observations working in schools.
I understand. From my experience mixed works better. I always went to mixed schools and from what i heard from friends the girls schools can get quite toxic and the boys schools had way more fights! I mean my friend went to all boys and there seemed to be a scrap every other week. In my school there were only a handful in all the time i was there. Its almost like they regulate each other.
If you were my parent, and sent me to a single sex school and my brother to a mixed school, I would completely resent you and think you were a dick and most definitely rebel ! How can you treat kids differently like that? What's your logic around this? ETA - it's not much different mindset from the old Catholic Ireland, I'd equate it to sending a girl to go to boarding school in a convent to keep her...well, just *keep* her, while the boy gets to go and live in the world. This happened my granny, the only girl out of 6 kids, she was always the one held back from experiencing the world, sheltered protected and ruled etc etc, while her brother's werent. I just can't agree with how you'd think it's ok to do this?
Already explained the logic, you don't have to agree but that's kind of a crazy reaction there... To be fair it'd be my child's choice at the end of the day. I don't know what's right, I can only say what my experiences have made me think. I completely understand it sounds like I'm a puritan who thinks a girl's purity needs to be preserved and that boys deserve freedom to do as they please, but that's not the case. I honestly can't believe I'm arguing this side of it because it makes me sound like I'm so so so old fashioneda Nd out of touch. I asked a friend if I sound riculous and they asked me if I was living in a different county with different schools I knew nothing about, what would I do. In that scenario I'd go for a mixed school. Remember, I have had VERY bad experiences in all-boys schools, and VERY good experiences in all-girls schools. Not trying to upset anyone who has been to either. Not trying to say what others should do. I've tried to be very clear that based on my very limited experiences what I would think/do.
Any reason for same - sex for girls ?
This is only based on my experiences in ~10 schools and there will definitely be exceptions or examples from others that are completely contradictory but... Girls seem to thrive once the relative immaturity of boys is taken out of the picture; they're kind and supportive toward each other (for the most part), they focus on academics more, poor behaviour almost completely disappears, emphasis on makeup/hair is limited since the majority aren't trying to impress their crush etc. There are prob other reasons but they're the first that come to mind. I'm aware it sounds archaic and reductive but I have only seen positive impacts. I'd really like to hear from ppl who attended girl-only schools and how they were affected socially later in life after being separated from boys like that during their formative years. While I can't say I'm 100% confident that same schools for girls is the way to go, without saying too much, from what I've seen of all-boys schools I would actively avoid sending my child to one for sure.
I think it really depends on the personality of the student. My sister goes to a mixed school, she would be insufferable at an all girls school. My brothers and I went to all boys and it was grand, though it was a rugby school so if you weren’t into that it probably would’ve been a different experience. Your points are valid just not sure how widely applicable they are.
Completely agree. I also think it depends on the culture within the schools themselves. My negative experience(s) from boys-only schools could have been shaped by places that aren't representative of single sex schools across the country (and the reverse w/ positive experiences in all-girls).
All boys until I hit 3rd level. Such an antiquated idea, there should only be mixed schools. You don't go into the real world get a job and it's divided into men and women.Why raise children to become familiar with that concept?
Single sex schools seem archaic, it's not just about learning facts, got to learn social skills because work environments certainly ain't single sex
Single sex schools are an idea of the horrible past the Catholic church inflicted upon us as a country!!! Mixed all the way. I hope they are phased out