Girls' schools: good for grades, terrible for your mental health

Single-sex education may be the key to academic success, but it leaves you a gibbering wreck, says Bryony Gordon

By Bryony Gordon
Last Updated: 7:00PM GMT 18 Mar 2009

The least surprising news of recent months just ahead of the revelation that bankers are a greedy shower of, well, bankers is the research which shows that girls do better at school if denied the distraction of stupid, smelly boys.

The Good Schools Guide analysed the results of more than 700,000 girls taught in the state sector and discovered that those at single-sex establishments made much more progress than those at co-ed secondaries. So it's an A* for stating the bleeding obvious, although interestingly, no mention was made of whether or not boys do better when schooled away from the fairer sex, leading me to presume that the educational gap between the genders has now widened so much that they are beyond help either way.

Anyway, obviously girls do better when schooled alone freed from the exhausting study of Jake in the Upper Sixth, they can knuckle down and concentrate on Shakespeare, Newton and Pythagoras. Only an idiot would argue against single-sex education on an academic basis but it's on the non-academic side that all-girls' schools go badly wrong.

Having attended a single-sex school between the ages of 11 and 18, I can confidently tell you a few things about them. First, your daughter will indeed leave with a clutch of wonderful grades. But more importantly, she will also leave with a clutch of mental health issues.

Boys sometimes get into fights and beat each other up, but at least it's over in a hurry. Girls, when put together, resort to emotional violence that scars you well into adulthood. Their idea of light playground banter is to start rumours that your house smells of cabbage, even when it doesn't. The result being that for six years not a single soul comes to visit you, and the mere sight of a vegetable stall makes you burst into tears for years afterwards.

Also, you are considered a freak if you don't have an eating disorder; people feel sorry for you if your parents are still together. And having been locked away from boys all your life, you may well become a bit how can I put this politely? promiscuous. Deprivation is a dangerous thing.

To this day, I have a hatred of being in large groups of people who are all the same sex. The mere mention of a hen night causes my teeth to grind involuntarily, my cheeks to burn bright red, and my breath to shorten until I seriously fear that I am having a heart attack. It is as if my body is shutting down and saying: do you know what would be preferable to spending a few hours with a group of girls? Death.

And as for the men I know who went to all-boys' schools well, the less said about them, the better.

Article & comments here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/bryonygordon/5012647/Girls-schools-good-for-grades-terrible-for-your-mental-health.html

Oprah's private South African school rocked by SECOND lesbian sex scandal in 18 months

By Jo Clements
Last updated at 8:28 AM on 01st April 2009

Oprah Winfrey's private South African school has been rocked by its second sex scandal in 18 months.

Seven pupils have been suspended from the all-girls school, after being accused of touching girls private parts and having sexual relationships with other students.

One of the suspended girls, who is 15, also allegedly tried to force other girls to have relationships with one another.

A letter sent to the pupil, and obtained by an African newspaper, said: You are accused of having physical contact of a sexual nature with another pupil on the campus, intimidation, and that you bullied other pupils on the campus and were dishonest by not telling the whole truth to investigators.

She claims the accusations are false and has blamed jealous girls for spreading rumours about her.

Miss Winfrey, 55, has invested around £30 million establishing the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, which opened in January 2007.

The chat show host claimed the school, based in Henley-on-Klip, 30 miles south of Johannesburg, would be a model school for the rest of the world and was praised by Nelson Mandela for her work.

But just nine months after its high-profile opening, the academy found itself at the centre of a child abuse scandal.................

Complete article, photos & comments:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1166145/Oprahs-private-South-African-school-rocked-SECOND-lesbian-sex-scandal-18-months.html

OPRAH DEFENDS SOUTH AFRICAN SCHOOL

http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/94569/Oprah-defends-South-African-school

Saturday April 11,2009

Oprah Winfrey has acknowledged that she has made several mistakes at her elite South African school, but said she remained proud of its success.

The recent expulsion of four girls and suspension of three others was the second scandal to hit the Leadership Academy for Girls, which opened in 2007 to groom bright children from deprived backgrounds for a brilliant career.

A dormitory matron is currently on trial accused of abuse and sexual assault.

"I have made several mistakes and one of them was being overprotective of the girls, which has led to an impression that the school is isolating them from society," Winfrey told the Weekend Argus.

She said she had also underestimated the extent of homesickness among girls at the boarding school.

Last month, four students were expelled and three others suspended. South African media at the time said they were accused of trying to force students into relationships and to engage in sexual contact.

Winfrey herself has not given details of the misconduct. But she said it was "insulting" that the family of one of the expelled girls had complained to the press even though she had been warned before about her behaviour.

The high school just outside Johannesburg opened with a blaze of publicity in January 2007 with about 150 girls and is to grow to full capacity in 2011 with about 450 girls.