Frequently Asked Questions
Select a question from those below. Click << back to return to the main FAQ page.
Co-Education
"Are girls
at ease at PGS?"
"Is there a quota
for pupils of each gender?"
"How can you choose
between Co-education and Single Sex?"
"Are there positive
merits in co-education?"
"Do girls suffer
academically in a co-educational environment?"
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"Are girls at ease at PGS?"
Yes. Everything and everyone, from external Inspectors to pupils
themselves, tell us so.
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"Is there a quota for pupils of each gender?"
No, that would be illegal. We admit by quality only and the
percentage varies from year to year. The overall percentage is between
35% and 40%, but one year in the Junior School there were actually
more girls than boys. At 11+ we generally admit more boys than girls;
at 13+ there are usually more girls than boys; and at 16+, when
many girls choose to leave single-sex schools, our entry is very
largely female.
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"How can you choose between Co-education and Single
Sex?"
The Headmaster recommends as follows “More than anything else,
I would let the pupil decide. I’d particularly make sure that
the pupil visited an Open Morning or other Open occasion. The one
thing I wouldn’t do would be to pay any attention to the so-called
experts. The merits of co-education speak for themselves and one
has only to look at trends in education and elsewhere to see that
co-education is the likely way of the future. But I think that schools
should avoid sales talk; they should present intelligent parents
and pupils with the wherewithal to make a choice. We don’t
promote co-education, rather we do promote choice.”
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"Are there positive merits in co-education?"
We believe, passionately, that girls and boys should have equal
opportunities. You can see a general statement about this here.
We also believe that extracurricular activity is of great importance
if pupils are to be able to develop personally and socially to gain
confidence, to gain character and to gain skills. For reasons which
are historic, co-educational schools generally offer more extra
curricular activity to girls than single sex schools do, and that’s
a key issue.
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"Do girls suffer academically in a co-educational environment?"
Some say girls are overshadowed by boys and set low goals as a consequence.
We see no evidence of this whatsoever – indeed much the reverse.
Everything tells us that PGS girls are on an impressive and entirely
equal footing. Come and see for yourself!
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Nursery & Junior
School (023) 9236 4219