Girls and the 11+
While on paper it seems like girls have it easier than boys – girls have more choice of single-sex and co-ed selective school options in London and Surrey – there are particular challenges of navigating the 11+ with your daughter. Girls growing up much more quickly than ever before, smartphones, mental health challenges and the psychological fallout from Covid have all formed a perfect storm for our girls.
“Girls have different challenges compared to boys in the selective school system”
The aim of this webinar with Mel Ingle was to move the discussion beyond the tired and not very useful cliché of ‘girls do better academically in single-sex schools’.
“Academic value-add is a crucial metric for evaluating school performance.”
What to expect in the discussion
Mel will give an overview of the selective school landscape for girls in London and Surrey, breaking down the market in detail. Highly selective independent schools, grammar schools, partially selective state schools, value-add focused independent schools…
Co-ed vs single sex? The merits of co-education versus single-sex education for girls, especially in excelling in STEM subjects. We don’t have a one size fits all opinion, because everything is so context-dependent when it comes to choosing a school for your child.
Life beyond 11+? Different options for transitioning to a selective school, including 7+ and 13+ entry, if the 11 plus transition didn't go as planned.
Pastoral challenges? Before recording the webinar, we crowdsourced opinions from expert educators, including girls’ prep school and international school heads, about the challenges faced by girls making an 11+ transition in 2025.
“The speed at which these little girls are being asked to be teenagers is concerning. Childhood needs to be recaptured.”
Key takeaways for parents
Understanding the nuances of the selective school system in London and Surrey is essential for parents.
For the majority of children, academic value-add is a more important metric than raw outcomes for judging a school.
The decision between single-sex and co-education should be context-specific and based on your daughter’s individual profile.
A 13+ prep school that goes up to Year 8 can offer more flexibility, especially for children for whom highly academically selective schools are not the right fit, by opening up 11+ and 13+ entry points to senior school.