Students at mixed-gender schools feel more confident and prepared for university than those from single-sex schools, says a Strategic Counsel survey completed by nearly 18,000 university-bound students.

Grade 12 student Alia Hack likes interacting at school with both genders. She says that's how it's going to be in university and in the real world.

Fifty-six per cent of students from private, co-ed schools said they felt "very confident" they will be academically prepared for university when they graduate from high school, compared with 50 per cent from private, single-sex schools. Forty per cent students from co-ed public schools also felt very confident, compared with 38 per cent from public girls-only schools.

"It's great to have survey results that substantiate our observations on a daily basis," said Bennett, who has worked in co-ed and single-sex schools.

The survey also shows 70 per cent of private-school co-ed students find it easy to make friends with the opposite sex, compared with 58 per cent of their peers who share classrooms with just the same sex.

"I think all methods of learning work for some children," said headmistress Patricia Donnelly. "We think there are real advantages in single-sex education, particularly in middle and upper grades."

Puberty causes distraction, styles of learning are different between boys and girls, and there's more camaraderie among a single sex, she says.

"Girls tend to like a collaborative approach. Group work really works well for girls. Boys like very crisp pacing. They like a loud voice and things to move quickly with frequent change. And the sense of very strong discipline."

Sacred Heart's decision to open a high school boys division last year was partially based on statistics that show boys aren't attending or staying in university at the same rate as girls, added Donnelly.

Should boys and girls be educated in separate classrooms? Call us at 444-4444, Ext. 5646, or e-mail sbornais@hfxnews.ca. Be brief. Results appear Saturday.

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