For many families boarding is not simply a consideration, it’s a requirement to ensure their children will receive the best possible educational opportunities. There are many benefits to boarding that can have a lasting impact on a child’s education journey. We understand that the main consideration for many families is to provide your children with greater opportunities. However, have you considered the benefits of co-educational or co-ed boarding over single-sex boarding?
There is a global trend toward educating boys and girls together. After all, in life, genders are not separated and so this approach more accurately prepares children for life after school. But how does co-education successfully work in boarding schools? Some parents may believe their child would benefit from a boarding school without the distractions of the opposite sex. The reality is children today are faced with many more distractions than ever before: social media; advancing digital technology designed to interrupt; greater choices – academically and socially. Learning to co-habit with the opposite sex better prepares students for their future.
Here are ten benefits of co-educational boarding at Guildford Grammar School:
- Co-educational boarding provides an environment where girls and boys can develop healthy, respectful relationships with one another. Through these relationships, they can gain a wider perspective on everyday, real-world issues.
- Developing social and emotional skills is just as important as acquiring academic skills. Boarding in a co-educational context allows boarders to develop these important skills and recognise the differences and similarities between genders.
- A co-educational boarding house allows brothers and sisters to remain close, living under one roof as they would at home. This is of the utmost importance at Guildford Grammar School as we aim to deliver the most seamless transition from the home to their home away from home. Having the support of a sibling whilst living in boarding can be extremely beneficial for young boys and girls.
- Boarding at Guildford Grammar School promotes equality, diversity and inclusivity. Students interacting with the opposite gender on a regular basis, about all manner of school life, ingrains the values and attitudes we want our students to develop and bring out into the world.
- By choosing a co-educational boarding environment for your child, you are making their transition to their next pathway in life easier. Having been exposed to a setting where gender diversity is the norm, your child will transition more easily to an environment where there are no single-sex occupations or classes.
- Through shared experiences, boarders can form friendships and connections that last a lifetime, unlimited by gender.
- A co-ed environment fosters inclusiveness and promotes equality. Living and learning side by side, girls and boys cooperate and collaborate together in ways that enable them to embrace their differences and celebrate each other as individuals.
- Students develop stronger self-confidence in a co-educational environment. By learning to express themselves outside of the classroom with peers of either gender, our students grow in confidence daily.
- Co-ed boarding improves communication skills. By being out of the classroom setting in a space where frequent interaction occurs with the opposite gender, your child will be building communication skills that are going to last a lifetime.
- Co-ed boarding teaches students about respect in relation to the opposite sex in a meaningful, practical way. The environment and atmosphere that is fostered in boarding at Guildford Grammar School promotes mutual respect.
At Guildford Grammar School, our proud tradition of boarding is as a home away from home for our boarders from regional Western Australia, interstate and overseas. Diversity in culture and gender allows for an experience that is unparalleled in WA. If you would like to learn more about co-educational boarding at Guildford Grammar, please download our Boarding Prospectus or visit our FAQ page.
