SE CHRONICLE 684

11 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

Clare Hamilton Sub-Warden How important is co-education to the fundamental purpose of education? School isn’t just about successfully

proportion of women serving in the armed forces is only 11%. It certainly wasn’t an easy career path; however, I have no doubt that my co-education has made me more robust and rounded. As I progressed, gender balance and representation became an increasingly important discussion in the Army Headquarters and there were exciting developments, such as the removal of gender as a pre-requisite for employment in roles like ground close combat. Operationally, there was an acknowledgement that team diversity could make a hugely positive difference. You have no doubt given co-education a great deal of thought. Have any particular studies or pieces of research been particularly helpful? Not a piece of research but when I was considering what advice I had for the Apsley pupils ( Clare was HM of Apsley prior to taking up the role of Sub-Warden this term ) on International Women’s Day, I shared two book recommendations with them that I felt really touched on the year’s theme of ‘breaking the bias’. The first was Caroline Criado Perez’s well-known book Invisible Women and the second was Mary Ann Sieghart’s Authority Gap . Both books challenge the perceived ‘default setting’ in the world and raise awareness of bias, a useful perspective for within School and beyond. What are the social and societal benefits of co-education? Having taught Global Politics at Teddies for the last three years, I have seen the class discussion of gender equality weave through every dimension of the course. From the self-evident links to human rights, development and sustainability to its positive correlation in bringing about peaceful societies. In 2022, it is clear that the world has come a long way in its attitudes towards women but ultimately any bias that exists starts young and is ingrained in our brains, attitudes and perceptions. It’s incredibly important therefore to ‘grow up’ in a gender-balanced or co-ed environment and to see pupils and staff of both sexes in leadership roles. The benefits of being educated in a diverse community cannot be overstated.

co-ed, but the first girls will start there this year. I don’t think single-sex education will disappear altogether – parents will always want to have choice, and some parents will make that choice for their children – but I do think the number of single-sex schools will continue to fall. There doesn’t seem to be any evidence that single-sex education brings benefits in children’s cognition or attainment, and there’s no doubt that it comes with costs that need to be managed. That’s just one reason why it’s very unlikely that anyone opening a new school today would open a single-sex school – and I think that says a lot about the future. Too many to list! I’ll go back to my first answer – if education is about preparing children to be adults, to take their places in society, schools should provide a natural environment in which they can grow up. There’s been a huge amount of research on the subject, but essentially I don’t think it’s more complicated than that. In fact, with the 25th anniversary of full co-education and the 40th anniversary of the first girls arriving in the Sixth Form both this month, I was looking at a Chronicle interview with David Christie, the 11th Warden, back in 1997. Asked about the reasons for his enthusiasm for making the School fully co educational, he told his audience, which was then mainly boys: ‘The best preparation we can give you is an educational experience with a wide range of people including girls’. I could not have put it better myself. People say that single-sex schools allow children to be themselves more, to be less self-conscious. But a co-ed school with an inclusive culture and caring teachers can do that too, and in an environment which is real rather than artificial. Children in a co-ed school can learn how to be authentic, how to be themselves. Yes, there will be some distractions, some points of peer pressure, some differences which teachers will need to manage – but the important point is that all those things can be managed. And that is worth doing, because pupils at Teddies and other co-ed schools will then not have to relearn those same lessons or to redefine themselves when they leave. They will be ready for the world, the mixed and diverse world. Exactly as David Christie said, that is in their best interests. It is in the interests of our society too. What are the social and societal benefits of co-education?

acquiring a body of knowledge and sitting exams. It’s about growing up, trying new things, learning from mistakes, broadening your experience and understanding of the world and forming lasting friendships. Boarding in a co-educational environment makes your experience so much the richer. What does co-education bring to the atmosphere and culture of the School? St Edward’s is a vibrant community, brimming with energy. Whether you are in the classroom, having lunch in Willows or watching the musical and dance performances, you will be struck by the way pupils interact with each other; it’s a friendly and inclusive place. What are the specific benefits of co educational boarding? The boarding House is your home from home and so naturally it is a more relaxed dynamic than in the classroom. In House, it’s tremendous for the junior pupils to have a more diverse group of Sixth Formers mentoring and leading them. It really breaks down barriers and gets the pupils ready for life beyond Teddies. What’s your own experience of co educational or single-sex education or workplace environments? How have these experiences shaped your current thinking about co-education? I attended an all-girls’ prep school and then a senior boarding school, before moving to a co-educational boarding school. Not unsurprisingly for the time, I felt there was a real poverty of aspiration in an all-girls’ setting, which lifted when I went into a co ed school. I’m very pleased to reflect that times have changed considerably since my prep school days when there was a coveted award for deportment on offer! Later, when I decided to commission as an Officer in the British Army, it was a workplace where women were vastly underrepresented. Even today, the