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'Bracing' recession hailed by girls' head
Tim Ross, Education Correspondent17.11.08
Girls are growing up surrounded by a "toxic cocktail" of Botox and binge drinking, a leading headmistress warned today.
Vicky Tuck, president of the Girls' Schools Association, said parents wanted girls to be educated separately "to prolong the wholesomeness of society".
Speaking at the GSA conference near Winchester, she said: "Some parents today are very anxious about their daughters growing up too fast. They are worried - aren't we all? - about a coarsening of society and the toxic cocktail of binge drinking, internet safety and the early sexualisation of girls.
"Sometimes, surrounded by media reports on Botox and bingeing, it's easy to feel we live in a moral vacuum, garden in a gale. But we must go on gardening. Am I alone in finding the economic downturn somehow bracing? Perhaps it will spell the end of the conspicuous and ultimately unfulfilling materialism of the me, me, me society. Let's hope so."
Mrs Tuck, head of Cheltenham Ladies' College, said many parents lack confidence in their abilities and need schools to give guidance. The GSA is setting up a website offering advice on problems such as eating disorders.
Mrs Tuck also claimed that boys and girls need a separate education because of "neurological differences", adding: "I have a hunch that in 50 years time, or maybe only 25, people will be doubled up with laughter when they discover that people once thought it was a good idea to educate adolescent boys and girls together."
Reader views (5)
'The coarsening of society'. There you have it. Thanks to our esteemed celebrities, our eloquent footballers, the drunk in the street, the expense-fiddling politicians, and the avaricious bankers. At least, down my street, we are still human.
- John Problem, Hackney Wick, London, UK
I was educated in a single-sex school, and would love the same for my daughter, but can't afford it.
I wholeheartedly agree with everything Vicky Tuck says - except that I'd be less heartened by it if I had a boy, as they're said to benefit (educationally speaking) from co-education.
As a single mother I've been badly treated by some vile sexist men whose ego-driven quest for a 'perfect woman' has made them blind to the joy of finding someone who's a suitable partner, someone with whom we can be happy.
Anything that preserves the moral fibre of our society would be good - but I think it's multi-factorial. For instance, I think the preponderance of soft-porn in society has as much, if not more, to answer for than co-education. If anything, co-education should help to show girls and boys the 'human' side of the opposite sex, and balance out inaccurate sex stereotypes.
In my experience single-sex education of girls leads girls to higher moral ideals, but unless they know how to navigate life in knowledge of its realities, they may not find what they are looking for.
If people in general, regardless of gender, were all striving for the same things, the "moral decline" we're hearing so much about might slow. However, this is a free country & I, for one, feel powerless to act. I feel powerless to stop men seeking porn-star lookalikes as life partners. It is not for me to say what I have to offer, but for them to discover. I may be waiting a long time!
- Emily, Worthing, UK
In other words: she's experienced a drop in the number of parents willing to pay fees that soar way higher than inflation.
- Roz, Chamonix, France
Mrs Tuck, I am laughing already about the idea of trying to educate boys and girls together. Separate education is probably better for the girls and it is certainly better for the boys. Teenage girls are predatory pack animals.
- Bloke, London
Its called reality, stupid.
Yes lets all send our kids to boarding schools as well so they havent a clue about the real world when they get out....
- Anon, London
