For the first time ever, girls have been offered places at The Crypt School in Gloucester.
The grammar school, which is traditionally single-sex, has opened its doors to girls for the first time in its 500-year history. A third of children who have been offered places in year seven at the school are female.
Places were offered to both girls and boys on Thursday 1 March 2018, but additional places at the school are still available. The school says it expects considerable interest from parents who didn’t get their first choice school, and expects to fill the remaining spaces through waiting lists.
Speaking to SoGlos, Nicholas Dyer, Headmaster of The Crypt School said: ‘It’s been almost two years since we made the decision to go co-educational. We’ve had to make some changes to our pastoral welfare systems and have been supporting teachers with extra training on teaching both boys and girls. Ultimately, they are all children, but there are some differences between how boys and girls learn, so we wanted to raise awareness of this.
‘In terms of the buildings, we already had toilets and changing rooms for girls, as our sixth form is already mixed. We have employed a new head of girls sport who is an England netball player. She is starting with us in September 2018, and a new range of netball and tennis courts are being built. We expect that boys will use these facilities, too.’
Parents who have recently moved to the area are also being given the opportunity to get their child into The Crypt School, thanks to a late admittance test that’s being offered for September 2018 entry.
A total of 6251 Gloucestershire school children were offered a secondary school place for September 2018, with 86 percent of pupils receiving a place at their first choice school.
For more information, see The Crypt School, or call (01452) 530291.
