Harrogate headteacher bites back over school debate

Headteacher Sylvia Brett with HLC students. Picture: HLC

Richard Cairns, of Brighton College, faced a national backlash after he said a lack of communication with males as children would leave women limited in the workplace.

 But now headteacher of Harrogate Ladies College (HLC), Sylvia Brett has had her say on the matter.

 She said: “There is no one way of schooling or educating which is true of every school in the country.

 “We are completely committed to single sex education for the girls who come to college but I’m not going to say it’s the only way to educate your child.”

 In his article for www.independentschoolparent.com, Mr Cairns also said single-sex schools could be more prone to bullying.

Read: Girls at single-sex schools may be placed at ‘huge disadvantage’

 He said: “Boys in single-sex school tend to create their own artificial hierarchies where only those in the 1st XV rugby team are truly valued while girls-only schools sometimes suffer a degree of emotional intensity that can lead to bullying.”

 Directly addressing the suggestion that the school’s education could be limiting, Mrs Brett argued HLC students are free to express themselves.

 She said: “Going to the comment on independence it’s so far from the truth it makes me laugh.

 “I see the girls being so free to try out all different aspects of their personality.

 “In a girls’ school you can be tough and feisty but you can also be girly.

 “There are no rules on what you can do and be and that freedom builds confidence more than anything else.”

 Former HLC student Alex Addison also disputed the comments made by Mr Cairns.

 She said: “I value my time at HLC greatly and am the person I am today because of the school. I was able to concentrate on myself and my education without the pressures of boys.

 “Boys will always be around and it’s not like we didn’t have contact with boys outside of school.

 “From my experience at HLC I would have to completely disagree with [Mr Carins]. If anything I am a more confident and stronger woman because of my time there.”