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In December 2023/January 2024 we carried out a consultation around Holcombe Grammar School becoming a co-educational establishment.
The proposal that we are making (alongside Fort Pitt Grammar School and Chatham Grammar) is intended to balance the number of boys’ and girls’ places in Medway, and over time, to allow more Medway pupils to attend a grammar school. This will also reduce pressure on non-selective secondary schools, ensuring that there are enough places for all Medway pupils whether or not they wish to attend a grammar school. Having more mixed grammar schools will mean that boys and girls places will be more evenly spread across Medway, and that pupils will not have to travel as far to go to school.
The consultation has now closed and we received 54 responses in total. We would like to thank everybody that took the time to respond, and can confirm that the majority of responses were in favour of the proposed change.
All responses to the consultation were thoroughly considered, and there were a number of responses which were in support of the proposed change. The key themes included:
· More even numbers of boys’ and girls’ places at local grammar schools
· A number of respondents felt that single-sex schools are ‘outdated’
· A perception that children will benefit from being in a mixed environment in terms of their social skills with those of other genders
· A perception that boys perform better academically in a co-ed environment
· A co-educational establishment being a better representation of life beyond school
· Siblings of differing genders being able to attend the same school
· More equality in opportunities available to boys and girls in Medway
· The need for more secondary school places for Medway children
Some respondents expressed concerns about the proposed change. We hope that our responses in the table below will alleviate these concerns and provide reassurance. We believe that co-education allows pupils of differing genders to develop a more rounded understanding of one another, better preparing them for later life and the workplace; this view was echoed by a number of the respondents to the consultation.
| Key themes from consultation responses | School Response |
|---|---|
Single sex schools have better results than mixed schools. | There is no data to support this assertion. Progress 8 scores show a wide range of performance levels amongst both mixed and single-sex grammar schools. |
Boys and girls benefit from a different teaching style. | There is no evidence to support this assertion. |
| Boys/girls of some religions need to attend single-sex schools. | We are a non-denominational school which is welcoming and inclusive of all, regardless of faith, belief and background. We are proactively inclusive of all groups, across our student and staff community. We recognise that there are a small number of groups that would prefer single-sex schools to mixed schools, a concern raised by a small number of respondents; however, as a Trust we are committed to being an inclusive educator and employer by enabling all students and employees to utilise the same facilities, take part in the same activities and experiences, regardless of whether or not they are disabled, whatever their ethnicity, culture, religious affiliation, national origin, national status, gender or sexual orientation. |
| Girls would be a distraction to boys during puberty (and vice versa), and create additional social pressures. | Mixed schools mirror a society where all genders work and socialise well together. There are numerous mixed schools where all genders work very well together. A co-education prepares young people with the skills, tools and experience to thrive in both work and society beyond school. Holcombe’s high quality of teaching and learning, as well as its robust behaviour policy, ensure that all children can learn in a calm and productive classroom environment regardless of gender. |
| This will put additional pressure on the remaining single sex schools and lead them to oversubscribe more heavily. | This would only be an issue if significant numbers of parents applied to these schools; however, the relatively low number of parents expressing concern about this indicates that this would not be an issue. |
Does this solve the problem of Medway children not getting places in Medway schools? | Alongside this proposal, adjustments are also planned to be made to the Medway Test pass mark, allowing more Medway students to pass the test. Together, these measures are expected to support more children within Medway to attend Medway schools. |
There are already plenty of mixed schools in Medway. | There is only one mixed Grammar school in Medway at present. |