Why and how girls thrive in girls only schools

Dr Kevin Stannard, MA PhD., Director of Innovation and Learning at the GDST

Gender affects the way that students experience education
Girls face pressures to conform to gender stereotypes – pressures which are stronger in the presence of boys
Girls need and deserve space in which to develop their full potential, and to make informed and unconstrained choices about interests, subjects and careers
In girls-only schools their needs and preferences can be fully accommodated within a dedicated learning environment
Successful girls’ schools are those in which a dedication to girls’ education is reflected in their physical design, curriculum and co-curriculum offer, teaching and learning approaches, and in their whole-school culture
Today’s girls’ schools serve to subvert, rather than support, gender stereotypes and a priori assumptions, by offering an education designed for and dedicated to the development and empowerment of successful, confident and adventurous girls.