Birkenhead boys school set to welcome girls

Oct 5 2007

BIRKENHEAD’S independent boys school could begin admitting girls in an historic move which is likely to re-ignite the debate over education in the borough.

Many parents have reacted with dismay since Wirral’s last independent all-girls school announced it was abandoning academic selection to move towards becoming an all-ability academy.

The all-girl Birkenhead High School has begun the process of becoming the country’s first “all through” academy for girls aged from three to 16, abandoning its fee-paying status and only selecting a minority of its students.

Last night, it was revealed the girls school had been in merger negotiations with Birkenhead School, the neighbouring independent boys school, to provide mixed classes for children aged up to 11 and post-16.

However, last month the Girls Day School Trust (GDST), which oversees Birkenhead High, withdrew from these negotiations and this week announced it will become an academy from September 2009.

Since the announcement was made, the boys’ school is said to have been “inundated” with parents of girls asking if they plan to become co-educational.

Head of the all boys Birkenhead School, John Clark, said the move by the GDST meant Wirral’s “educational landscape has changed dramatically” and had made his school pause for thought.

He said the possibility of co- education had been under discussion for several years but a survey of parents in 2006 had not given them a clear mandate to proceed.

Mr Clark said: “Parents were pretty evenly divided across most of the age groups, with most concerned about the 11-16 age range.

“But some parents now who said they were against co-education in our survey said now they would answer differently.

“Parents seem to be saying – and this is based on a number of conversations – single sex education is important, but independence is more important.”

He said any change would be something his school’s governors would “consider very carefully” and the wishes of parents who had chosen Birkenhead School because it offers single sex education for boys would have to be weighed against those seeking an independent education for their daughters. Mr Clark said the move by the GDST was “laudable” but that the prospects of his school following suit were “absolutely none”.

Last night, a spokeswoman for the GDST confirmed they had “initiated discussions” with the boys school over possible co- educational options.

But she said: “Our concerns when we withdrew were that the proposed merger did not protect single sex education for girls and would reduce access for girls.”

She said the option of becoming an academy would protect the girls school’s long-term future and allow it to remain part of the GDST network.

AN INTERNET campaign has been started on the social networking site Facebook, apparently made up primarily of former pupils at Birkenhead High.

The group is called “My school is not a City Academy ... so keep your hands off, Adonis” in reference to Education Minister Lord Adonis, who this week announced the Wirral school was one of those planning to become an academy.