Actually, there’s no answer to that one, but there is some interesting news about new opportunities for girls in single-sex classes. Here’s an article from England’s Telegraph about girls and science, quoting the new schools head there (photo courtesy of the Telegraph):

Sarah McCarthy-Fry said girls could be put off by boys in the classroom and separating them for lessons could be the answer.
In her first interview since replacing Lord Adonis in the Prime Minister’s recent reshuffle, she said: “Girls do much better in science in single-sex classes. They sometimes feel intimidated in mixed-sex classes with the boys hogging the limelight and putting their hands up to answer all the questions.”
Her call comes just a week after Vicky Tuck, the president of the Girls’ School Association and principal of Cheltenham Ladies’ College, predicted a return to separate-sex schooling after four decades of numbers dwindling from 2,500 single-sex secondary schools in the 1960s to just 400 today.
Mrs Tuck said more people were aware girls learnt differently from boys due to “neurological differences” in the developments of their brains.
Mrs McCarthy-Fry added that she believed both science and engineering could be presented to girls as an option in a more “girl-friendly” manner.
“If you talk to girls about what they want to do, many say they want to go into caring professions - like nursing,” she told the Independent. “But you could present science and engineering in a way girls could relate better to in careers advice.

And now this Nov. 14 announcement from The Brighter Choice Foundation in Albany, N.Y.:

The Albany City School District held a public hearing last night on the pending charter application to establish the Albany Leadership Charter High School for Girls, the first public girls-only high school, slated to open in August 2010. The school will initially serve a total of 125 students in the 9th and 10th grades, and expand to 9-12.

 Six people testified at the hearing, with five testifying in favor (including several parents) and one person opposed. The sole opponent, an older gentleman, railed incoherently about out-of-state forces setting up charters in New York.

Tags: Single Sex Schools

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