Do girls do better in single sex schools?

Do Girls Do Better in Single-Sex Schools? Prospective parents often ask whether girls achieve better outcomes in all-girls schools compared with co-educational settings.

As a co-educational school, we are proud to say that there is no evidence to suggest that girls perform better in single-sex independent schools than in co-educational ones. In fact, our own students thrive in a mixed environment and consistently outperform local single-sex schools academically.

Girls academic performance in co-ed vs single-sex schools

National data also shows that girls tend to perform strongly at GCSE, A-Level, and in higher education regardless of whether they attend a co-educational or single-sex school. According to the UK Parliament, the performance gap between boys and girls has been narrowing in recent years, making it difficult to draw simple comparisons, especially as results in co-educational schools reflect outcomes for both genders within the same cohort.

A major Cambridge University Press & Assessment study—the largest of its kind across multiple stages of education, found that girls outperform boys from primary school through to university in both co-educational and single-sex settings. More female students met or exceeded expected academic standards across every stage analysed, regardless of school type.

However, study lead Matthew Carroll also noted that these academic advantages do not necessarily carry through into the workplace, where gaps in pay, opportunity, and skill utilisation remain common. The research, which spanned ages four through higher education, also suggested that teacher-graded assessments during the pandemic may have disadvantaged some male pupils.

These findings suggest that the question “Do girls do better in single-sex schools?” does not have a simple yes-or-no answer. Current research indicates that girls achieve highly in both environments, and the quality of teaching, pastoral care, and school culture are far more influential factors than the gender mix alone.

You can read more about the Cambridge article here.