AGED 11, I successfully gained a scholarship to the Nottingham Girls' High School. Initially it was exciting and scary; it was also the gateway to a great education and enriching experiences.
Later, as a Nottingham teacher, I taught in three different secondary girls' schools. Each of them provided stimulating learning experiences and were appreciated by the students and their parents.
In 1985, I was privileged to become head teacher of the Manning Girls' School. The curriculum offered a full range of subjects, some that had formerly only been considered appropriate for boys. There was also a first-rate "care-riculum"; specific needs of girls were well understood, student responsibilities offered were eagerly received and well managed.
Now, as co-ordinator of the National Council of Young Women (NCYW) I again have contact with local senior girls, this time in nine schools.
The Girls' High School and Nottingham Girls' Academy contribute much to NCYW. Their students are eager to learn and quick to respond intelligently to issues, especially those discussed in our annual intergenerational seminars.
What of the girls in the other seven Link Centres? Are they disadvantaged by being in a co-ed school? Not as far as I can judge. They, too, are lively, confident girls who know how to deliver well-considered opinions. They seem to be their own people, at ease with who they are and what they can offer.
The Girls' High School provided me with an excellent education and I was head of a great LEA all-girls' school. Based on those experiences, I certainly am an enthusiast for single-sex education. But I'm also aware of the calibre of the rest of our city secondary schools.
Single-sex or co-ed? It's not about point-scoring or rivalry, but about having a range of provision.
It's about choice and I'm proud to belong to a city that continues to offer it at secondary level.
BARBARA MADDISON
Ingram Road
Bulwell