Leading Article: Single-sex return

Are girls better off in single-sex or co-educational schools? The answer to this old question seems to be swinging again in favour of girls-only schools. Vicky Tuck, the president of the Girls' School Association, is predicting a return to single-sex schooling on the grounds that girls learn differently from boys. Now Sarah McCarthy-Fry, the new Schools minister, wants more mixed schools to experiment with girls'-only science classes. It is doubtful, however, whether much change will take place until both boys and girls are seen to benefit from single-sex schooling.