Why Co-Education Matters
As we enter this 25th anniversary year of St Edward’s becoming fully co-educational, the Warden reflects on the importance of girls and boys learning together, not just for normality but for the opportunity and influence it creates, preparing them for a lifetime of respect and understanding.
What is the purpose of education? There are many answers to that question: the acquisition of knowledge, the development of character, learning how to think critically, understanding how to relate to others, finding out where interests and talents lie, recognising the rewards of hard work.
At St Edward’s, we believe that the primary purpose of education must be to prepare children to take their places in society as independent adults, giving them the points of social reference that they will need to be good citizens and to lead professionally and personally fulfilling lives. On that basis, and especially in our increasingly digitalised and automated society, the development of emotional intelligence is perhaps the most important element in a good education. People matter, and the ability to work with others has never been more important. Co-education has a vital role to play.
As educators, we know that young people learn from each other. As they prepare to take their places in wider society, children graduating from a co-educational school will have more points of social reference; they will have seen more men and women among the staff as role models; they will have looked up to older girls and older boys together as the leaders among the pupils; they will have seen equality, diversity and inclusion every day; they will be more ready for life in the real world.
Beyond the unarguable normality of co-education, the range of opportunity and influence in a school like St Edward’s is boundless. Girls and boys take dance lessons together, girls play rugby and boys play netball; there are mixed teams for hockey, cricket and football. Girls and boys play music together, study together, debate together, socialise together, and prepare for a lifetime of respect and understanding along the way.
Excesses in behaviour, for girls and for boys, are moderated naturally by their own observation and by the attitudes of the rest of the group, without the intervention of teachers. There can be no better example of children learning from each other. A child lacking in confidence can be inspired by a boldly volunteered answer, by realising that making mistakes is just part of learning, and indeed by the encouragement of a committed and sensitive teacher. A child making better connections between subjects can help their peers to see them too. A child who excels under pressure in examinations can appreciate the importance of ongoing effort when it is demonstrated by a peer. A rising tide of competition can lift all pupils, even those who might not instinctively have risen to a competitive challenge.
This year’s 25th anniversary of co-education in all year groups at St Edward’s is an important milestone. A handful of girls were welcomed into the Sixth Form in 1987, with St Edward’s taking the first girls into the Shell ten years later. Three of our thirteen boarding houses now have co-educational Sixth Forms, with girls and boys living together, experiencing the best possible preparation for university and providing the best possible role models for younger pupils. The next milestone will be an equal balance between boys and girls in the School as a whole.
That original question about the purpose of education is asked with greatest urgency by parents making choices for their children. In the context of co-education, one study is telling in its conclusion: almost every parent who went to a co-educational school wants the same experience for their children but parents who went to single-sex schools are much more equivocal about choosing the same for their children. That study was based on a small sample, but the robustness of its conclusion can be tested in everyday conversation. It follows from the lived experience of parents as pupils in those different types of school and from years of reflection on the way in which their schools prepared them for their later lives. There is no more compelling argument.
It is not surprising that so many single-sex schools are changing to be co-educational. It is also not surprising – but it is definitely worth noting – that we do not hear about schools which are already co-educational deciding not to admit girls or boys. Anyone looking to open a new school in the United Kingdom today would likewise hesitate for a long time before deciding to limit its intake to boys or girls.
The lives of our children need to be a continuous narrative, without an artificial parenthesis during their formative years in education. Separateness and difference are the antithesis of the cohesion and the mutual respect that our society needs, now more than ever. Whatever path children take through school and through life, that sense of togetherness is central to the purpose of their education. And it comes best from co-education.