It's the biggest unsolved issue in education: are single-sex schools better than co-educational schools?
Unsolved, says Tauranga principal Shawn Hutchinson, because the question is wrong. Ask not, he says, whether single-sex or co-ed is better; ask instead how good the school is.
Hutchinson is principal of Tauranga's new ACG (Academic Colleges Group) school - ACG being New Zealand's largest provider of quality independent school education. In Auckland, almost 20 per cent of all independent school students attend an ACG school and ACG students have achieved more Cambridge International awards (University of Cambridge international examinations) than any other school in New Zealand.
The five ACG schools in Auckland and Bay of Plenty are devotedly co-ed but Hutchinson is a good person to talk to about the benefits of both single-sex and co-ed; he has taught at both.
He says research on the subject is inconsistent at best. It is often an example of how research and statistics can be used to confirm existing points of view.
One of the last measurements of the single sex/co-ed debate was published in the New Zealand Herald in June 2014 - research which suggested that boys who attended single-sex schools were more likely to leave with higher qualifications than male counterparts at co-ed schools - specifically, 7-12 per cent more leavers reached NCEA Level 2 (or higher) than their co-ed peers.
The study was undertaken by the respected Council for Education Research on behalf of the Association of Boys' Schools, a connection which involuntarily invokes a sense of 'well, they would say that, wouldn't they?'. A search of various research projects and educators' opinions on the internet confirms it's easy to discover a view that aligns with that of the reader - and that the debate remains evenly divided.
Hutchinson says: "I never discuss which is better or which is worse; it's whether it is a good school with quality education. For quality education, you need a quality environment and quality teachers - well-trained teachers who are passionate about education, learning and their subject area.
"If you have that, you have a quality school. Of course, there are differences between boys and girls but if you have a quality teacher with strong knowledge of his or her subject and the ability to communicate that knowledge to young people, co-ed or single sex becomes a non-issue."
When Sydney's prestigious Kilvington Girls Grammar went co-ed back in 2010, headmaster Jon Charlton examined the latest research. Though there was a widely-held community belief boys do better in co-ed schools and girls better in single-sex classrooms, he said the research revealed any differences were not significant.
"We all know a student's genetics and socio-economic background have a huge impact on their learning but educational researchers...have demonstrated the next huge factor is not the gender factor - that's way down, if there at all; it's the quality of the teaching," he said at the time (Sydney Morning Herald).
Charlton said the research is also clear on the social gains for students in co-educational schools: "Life is co-ed. Co-ed schools are a more natural way for kids to learn and interact so I think it normalises all form of relationships." The school grew by 50 per cent in four years after taking in boys.
Leading Australian researcher on gender and education, Professor Judith Gill told the Sydney Morning Herald the number of schools converting to co-education in Australia and overseas was public acknowledgement of the move to co-ed schooling.
"However...there are some really good single-sex schools too. But as I have argued in my book - Beyond the Great Divide: Co-education or Single-Sex Schooling? - their merit does not accrue because of their single-sex status but rather because of the great commitment from teachers, high-quality leadership and a highly supportive parent community. These same features are found in good co-educational schools."
You can find the same sentiments in Britain (as well as those in direct opposition), like Sir Michael Wilshaw, head of Ofsted (the UK's government Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills). He told the Sunday Times last year: "I was head of an all-boys school. We did all right, but I much preferred being head of a mixed school. Girls and boys mix socially in the workplace. They should be educated together too. Boys and girls do better in a mixed-school setting, as long as it is a well-run school."
Hutchinson, who has taught at the boys-only Prince Alfred College in Adelaide, as well as in teaching and senior management roles in co-ed schools in Singapore, Japan, Vietnam and China, says most co-ed/single sex debate stems from concerns about social interaction outside the classroom.
"That is where I believe pastoral care and tutors must play a role. ACG's schools have developed this to a very high level. There can also be specific programmes put in place to support the tutors, looking at matters like health, hygiene, drugs and alcohol - that sort of thing.
"But it is the tutor programme that really works well. It provides a skilled adult a pupil can go to; it's not a 'have you done your homework' sort of relationship but something which can monitor a student's social and other development; it can lead to a really strong relationship over time."