Headmistress Jane Gandee stands up for single-sex education

Following an article on the impact of VAT on single-sex education, St Swithun's headmistress Jane Gandee wrote to the Telegraph over the weekend:

SIR – Your article (Features, March 28) on the impact of VAT on single-sex school fees raises many important points.
Despite the economic challenges, it is crucial that we retain the opportunity of a single-sex education, especially for girls. In the world of work, men are on average still paid more, promoted more often and are more self-confident. The exceptions to this, according to research, are women educated in girls’ schools, who are just as assured as their male peers and just as likely to seek promotion.
In the world of co-education, research has shown that boys receive up to eight times more attention than girls, with teachers regularly allowing them to interrupt and talk over their female classmates.
When it comes to subject choice, girls in girls’ schools are significantly more likely to opt for Stem subjects, and thus more likely to challenge the male domination of sectors such as engineering and finance.
Meanwhile, gender stereotyping is still common in toys and clothing, with pink and blue colours clearly indicating the socially acceptable direction of travel. I suggest that, as long as girls’ clothes have slogans such as “Simply adorable” while boys are “Wild and free”, girls’ schools are essential.

Jane Gandee
Headmistress, St Swithun’s School

The full article is available here.