Pymble Ladies College, St. Ignatius College students to attend an offsite camp

“There’s this idea that same-sex schools are an anachronism and their demise is imminent. But we refute that,” Bridge said.

Martin said that one reason boys’ schools are under more pressure to become co-educational is that “things go wrong in boys’ schools, which are often visible, like behavior problems and the behavior of the students. Boys who do a joint education tend to be more prominent in the public debate,” he said.

Monash University professor Helen Forgasz said that while same-sex girls’ schools market themselves well to parents, co-education offers many social benefits.

“When bullying occurs in girls’ schools, it may not be discussed publicly … and boys’ schools make the headlines much more often.”

Late last year Labor promised families guaranteed access to a coeducational public high school if elected.

Hadwen believes the ongoing debate about single-sex schools is “too polarized… I think we can have a more nuanced view” compared to Coed.

“One of the things that’s really close to my heart is that we can have single-sex schools and lots of opportunities for girls to interact with boys,” she said.

“I firmly believe that parents know their children best – and make the best decisions for them.”

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