St Edward’s has been fully co-educational for more than 20 years, and welcomed the first girl into the Sixth Form over 35 years ago.
F
undamental to the nature of education is the premise that pupils are instilled with the skills, knowledge and thinking to advance the world around them. A good education system, therefore, works towards the creation of gender equality. It teaches tolerance for the opinions of others, whilst instilling the ability to positively challenge and change conventional wisdom.
“Our mission is to develop young people who will mature into 25-year-olds capable of making a positive contribution to society. In this, co-education is essential. We cannot prepare our pupils for real life unless they learn to understand and work with the rest of the population.”
Why co-education works for St Edward’s
- Co-educational institutions can offer a better representation of wider society and its diversity, preparing pupils for the realities of the world of work.
- Studying in a co-educational learning environment affords pupils exposure to female and male role models in staff and senior pupils.
- Collaborative work in the classroom, activities and social settings provides the opportunity to learn from each other intellectually as well as socially.
- It is an approach that we also bring to the Boarding House structure, with both male and female staff in each House, which will be developed further with the opening of a new co-educational House in 2020.
Co-Education at St Edward’s in our own words
Current pupils and staff give their personal perspectives on what co-education brings to Teddies: