Over the last couple of years, several of Singapore’s well-known boys’ schools have opened their doors to girls.

The latest to join the list is Montfort Junior School. In March, it was announced that the primary school will become co-ed from 2028, while Montfort Secondary School will follow suit by 2034 or earlier.

As such announcements often do, it got people talking – about heritage, cultural identity, and what may be lost when single-sex schools go co-ed.

In this episode, I speak with a former deputy principal at Raffles Girls’ School, an academic from the National Institute of Education, and a mother of three boys who sits on two school boards and an alumni board.

With shrinking student numbers and competing demands for space, is there still a case for teaching boys and girls separately?

Highlights (click/tap above):

2:20 Why do alumni get upset when their schools go co-ed?

6:59 “It didn’t feel like it was mine anymore.”

10:05 How girls flourish in the single-sex school environment

15:56 Why a school’s history is powerful

17:57 Do single-sex schools reinforce gender stereotypes?

22:00 Finding balance in the school experience

24:00 Less prepared for the real world?

27:22 “Eh bro, that’s really toxic.”

31:34 Focus on quality curriculum

33:07 Shut down single-sex schools with falling enrolment?

Host: Natasha Ann Zachariah (natashaz@sph.com.sg)

Read Natasha’s articles: https://str.sg/iSXm

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Filmed by: Studio+65

Edited by: Eden Soh, Hadyu Rahim & Natasha Liew

Executive producer: Danson Cheong 

Editorial producer: Elizabeth Law

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