The move to coeducation

Dr John Halliday, Headmaster of Albyn School, explains the school's decision to become coeducational.

The 25th August 2005 was an historic day for Albyn School in Aberdeen. A renowned independent girls’ school since its inception in 1867, Albyn enrolled its first boys into the classes Primary 1 to Primary 5 in August this year as the first step in a planned move towards full coeducation over the next eight years.

The nurseries (we take children from three months) have always been coeducational. Some 20 years ago or so boys had been admitted until Primary 3 but that was in the days when many then left to go to preparatory school. In August 2005 it is different. This time there is no going back on the process of development from a combined primary and secondary of 350 to a total of 650 by 2013.

It has been a relatively common phenomenon for boys’ schools to take in girls, but the converse of that is rarer and is felt to be a more sensitive issue. The fact that most of the current Board are also current parents, and the presence on the Board of the Former Pupil Club President were certainly important factors in ensuring that this new development was very quickly accepted by the school community in its broadest sense. The staff have also welcomed this move as a very exciting development in the school’s history.

Why did we do this?
There are two main reasons behind our decision.

First, the educational vision, though I should stress that the move to coeducation was not made out of a view that single-sex schools are outmoded. (We will still have a wonderful all-girls’ secondary until 2008, after all). However, in educating children it is important that they are exposed to a range of teaching and learning styles. It is generally understood that around 80% of girls respond to a similar style of learning. The figure for boys is the same.  However, it is also true that if girls and boys are exposed only to learning styles that are associated with their respective genders then this can be limiting. It is important that girls are encouraged to think laterally, creatively and, from time to time, take risks. Often this is ignored in girls only education. Equally, the reverse can be true with boys only education.

In an oversized, undisciplined environment these learning styles can clash, to the detriment of both girls and boys. However, in an environment characterised by small classes, an appreciation of the individual and a structured classroom atmosphere, it is possible to unite these two learning styles for the benefit of both girls and boys.

Secondly, the more strategic vision. We are committed to building on Albyn’s 140-year tradition of educational excellence and ensure its status as a first-class school throughout the 21st century, by enhancing the educational provision and facilities. To fund that vision we felt we needed to increase the school roll.

We already have plans to expand the curriculum, particularly at secondary level, invest in new and enhanced teaching and sports facilities, open a brand-new, purpose-built primary school and refurbish our existing buildings.

As an aside it should be noted that one significant factor was also that we receive regular and repeated requests from parents who wanted the same quality of education for their sons as for their daughters.

So, having researched and analysed all the options, the case for realising our ambitions through coeducation ultimately proved to be compelling.  The one pre-condition was that the transition to coeducation would be achieved while upholding the school’s traditions and commitment to excellence. I had to be certain that we could move to coeducation while maintaining our small class sizes, our supportive and welcoming environment, our high quality, enthusiastic teaching and our strong focus on academic achievement.

How are we doing this?
Instead of enrolling boys throughout the school straightaway we chose to take them into the bottom half of primary only initially. The Primary 5 boys will therefore always be the oldest boys in the School - the pioneers, something of which they are clearly already proud.

The reasons for this were as follows:

1. It enabled the boys to be integrated stage by stage in an incremental way, rather than running the risk of the possible clash of cultures that can evolve if adolescent boys used to a different tradition were to enter the school.
2. The practical matter of resources and accommodation could be addressed in a planned and, again, incremental fashion so as to ensure everything was managed properly.
3. The curriculum needed to be reviewed to ensure that the learning styles of boys were addressed in partnership with those of girls.

Coeducation is seen by some as a break with tradition, and indeed in one sense it is. However, we are all very committed to maintaining the core values of the school for all - small classes, high academic standards, a friendly supportive environment and a strong sense of community values.

How is it going?
Within a space of six months the effects have been dramatic. Our nurseries are now full with a waiting list until October 2006. A year ago our primary roll stood at 125. This year it is 166, an increase which cannot be explained by the 24 new boys alone. The recruitment of girls has been given a substantial boost too, with a record 19 new girls entering Secondary 1 (Year 8). We are already well on the way towards building a new primary school, and other projects are in the pipeline. Girls play football with the boys and boys sit with the girls at lunch. It has so quickly become ‘the norm’.

A final thought
People often say that ‘research shows’ girls do best in all-girls schools. Such research can only be speculative as individual pupils normally only get one go at schooling and cannot be compared in different institutions at the same time. The fact is that girls currently do better in school, full stop. Exam results bear that out in co-ed and single-sex schools alike. The fact that several single sex schools dominate the league tables in England is more to do with their selectivity than their gender make-up. In Scotland co-ed schools tend to occupy the top few places.

There are fine single sex schools, whether for boys or girls. Equally there are fine coeducational schools. There are also some ropey schools in all of these categories. The important thing is to identify the features that all good or even great schools share. These are not necessarily ones that are well-known or have a traditional name. They are the schools in which there is that intangible buzz brought about by a dynamic, motivated staff team who are supported and appreciated, and a body of pupils who feel known and appreciated as individuals, and where there is an interactive rapport between pupils, staff and parents. George Fox, at one of the first meetings of the Quakers, exhorted those present to “Let your lives speak!” At Albyn that is what we have always strived to encourage in all our girls. Now the boys have a voice too!

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