Guest blog by Laura Fowler, Head of Nursery, Infant and Juniors at NGHS.

We have recently launched our Virtual Open Day to provide a glimpse of life at Nottingham Girls’ High School so that prospective parents and girls themselves can make an informed decision about their education choices. Our school performed, and continues to perform, extremely successfully throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Our Guided Home Learning programme was innovative and engaging and our girls thrived and continued to succeed and produce some incredible work during the initial lockdown period. We are experts in what we do, and we know that NGHS is an exceptional place in which to learn. We also know that some people still have doubts about an all-girls education so we’d like to dispel a few myths and answer some common questions.

My daughter has been in a co-ed nursery, how would a girls-only school be best for her now?

Girls and boys develop very differently in the early years. Typically, girls develop a greater grasp of language earlier than boys of the same age. This allows learning content and lessons in an all-girls school to be pitched at a higher level than in a mixed gender class. Also, concentration levels are largely more developed in girls than in boys of the same age. This means that teachers can deliver focussed learning which lasts for a longer period of time, engages girls and enables them to learn more as a result.

How will my daughter learn to cope with boys?

In a girls-only school, we focus on developing high self-esteem, self-confidence and the belief that girls can do anything they want to do. There are no stereotypes here. This will enable all girls to develop a strong sense of self that will stand them in good stead when they mix with other children, including boys.

Will my daughter learn how to behave around men?

We may be a girls’ school but we have male members of staff. Your daughter no doubt will have male relatives and friends. All of these role models are important to her development around others of the same and opposite gender.

What about learning; is this better without the boys?

Definitely. Girls typically learn differently to boys. Girls are social in their learning. With their more developed language skills, they like to discuss topics and questions in class. In a co-ed classroom this can often be dominated by boys who want to simply give the answer. Over time, this can lead to girls taking the back seat, often in subjects such as maths and science, where there is an exact answer, and thus becoming facilitators in the boys’ learning.

Boys engagement in learning is often more difficult to achieve and so educators tend to choose topics and contexts that they think will engage the boys. This can sometimes be at the detriment to the girls in the class. In a girls-only school, our curriculum is broad but balanced and engages and empowers girls to become successful women and leaders of the future.

What about eventual exam success?

Academically girls achieve more highly in an all-girl environment. Boys achieve more highly in a mixed environment. You could take from this that boys achieve more highly in a co-ed school due to the presence of girls.

How else will an all-girls school be better for my daughter?

All-girls schools only teach girls and so all of their focus, development and educator learning can be based on how girls learn best. We don’t even need to think about how boys learn best. This means that our curriculum and lessons can be created in the girls’ best interests.

In an all-girls school, girls can use all of the physical space for themselves. They don’t need to share a playground dominated by a boys’ game of football or always be considered slower in certain sports. This may seem insignificant but over time, this can mean that girls move away from physical activity and don’t develop their love of sport. In fact from the age of 8 years old, girls can begin to get turned off sport. In an all-girls school, we teach cricket, football, hockey and many other sports, both traditional and more forward thinking. A girl is more likely to continue exercising and enjoying sport in an all-girl environment, which of course has long term health benefits.

There is absolutely no reason whatsoever why girls should not love their time at school and enjoy everything we have to offer. They are happy, successful and don’t miss out on anything here, and they leave us as strong and confident young women with the belief that they can stop at nothing and achieve their dreams, whatever they may be.