In the latest Express podcast, Ms Harford-Fox said she is a believer in the advantages of single-sex education for girls.
LISTEN: The Ladies’ College Principal, Daniele Harford-Fox, sat down for an extensive interview with Express’ Senior Reporter, Matt Fallaize.
“I have come from really fantastic schools, but they are co-educational. I have been open that I am concerned about how particularly girls change when they are in a co-educational [mixed-sex] environment,” said Ms Harford Fox, pictured top.
“I just see them come in and they are throwing themselves around and they’re muddy and chaotic. And then very quickly they start to take up less space, they start to smile more and say less, they start to make sure that they are not making mistakes.
“That sense of having to perform and having to constantly think about how other people see you is true for many students but I have seen it be particularly true for girls.”
The Ladies’ College is now the only single-sex secondary school in the island following the admission of boys at Blanchelande College and the admission of girls at Elizabeth College.
Pictured: Daniele Harford-Fox says there is strong empirical and anecdotal evidence to support all-girls schools.
“What stands out at The Ladies’ College is that you just don’t see that self-evaluation. You don’t see them concerned about how they appear to others. They are not seeing themselves from outside,” said Ms Harford-Fox.
“I was reading an article a couple of days ago that said that women body monitor every 30 seconds. Every 30 seconds, I’m sitting here thinking about whether my legs are crossed nicely and whether I’ve got a double chin – I definitely have – and all of those things. We kind of constantly reflect on ourselves and that’s how we see ourselves through the eyes of the world rather than seeing the world through our eyes.
“What I love at The Ladies’ College is that their hair is not brushed – it’s messy – and that those girls are loud and they’re laughing and they’re thoughtful and they’re curious but they are individuals – fearless individuals – and I love it.”
Pictured: The Ladies’ College admits only girls, who are taught in single-sex classes until sixth form when some subjects are taught in conjunction with Elizabeth College.
Ms Harford-Fox said that The Ladies’ College is committed to the traditional concept of single-sex education but provided in a modern context.
“I do think there are different types of girls’ schools. Historically, there were some girls’ schools which I call the cotton wool model of girls’ schools…where they were taught to be female – they were taught those roles and taught to constrain themselves. I think that would probably be worse than co-educational, if I’m honest,” she said.
“But I do think that in the last 20 years that has not been the direction of travel of most leading girls’ schools and I don’t see that it’s the direction of travel here [at The Ladies’ College].
“And when you look at the evidence, there was a study in 2018 that looked at 314 different metrics at girls in co-educational and single-sex environments, and in almost all of them they do better in single-sex schools.
“That’s from academic performance in English, Maths, Science; it’s their choices; it’s their feeling of belonging; it’s the level of bullying. There are so many indicators and, across the UK, consistently girls perform better in single-sex than co-educational environments. That’s just empirical data.”
LISTEN…
In the full podcast interview, Daniele Harford-Fox talks more about her belief in single-sex education for girls, her views on the curriculum, her ambitions for The Ladies’ College and her background living, studying and working on multiple continents.
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