Why Choose a Boys' Only School?

"Pupils develop high levels of self-confidence and self-esteem as a result of the positive and affirming relationships that exist between them and their class teachers." Independent Schools Inspectorate Inspection Report 2019 

National statistics show that in infant and junior schools up and down the country, boys underachieve in comparison with girls.

Research by such as Dr Norfleet James (University of Virginia in 2010) confirms that boys’ learning patterns are entirely different from girls. Most primary teachers are female who will instinctively teach according to how they learnt best – arguably using techniques that suit girls better. Boys can often be discouraged by their apparent lack of comparable progress or may associate academic learning as something more appropriate for girls especially, as Gary Wilson’s research in the UK has shown, when culturally boys are stereotyped as lazy rascals: Just Williams or Ronald Weasleys (as opposed to Hermione Grangers).

At Loyola we recognise these differences and adjust our teaching accordingly. Boys are innately competitive and from the age of three we reward pupils for the quality of their effort and contribution to school life.

Boys develop greater peripheral awareness than girls – so are more liable to distraction. At Loyola, we organise our teaching into smaller chunks and reinforce learning through role play, physical activity to underpin concepts, multi-media stimuli or providing further opportunities to consolidate learning. 

Boys respond well to structure and hierarchy: the formal organisation of the school and even the geographical lay out of classrooms provides both. Boys learn as readily from their peers as from their teachers. At Loyola our senior boys are real and present mentors and role models for our younger boys.

As a boys’ school we offer enhanced opportunities to take part in a wide variety of sports, in technology, computing and design as parents might readily expect. But our boys also are immersed fully in the arts – in instrumental and choral music; in drama, art – both as technicians and as observers – areas that in co-educational settings may be far more densely populated by girls. Boys’ schools offer a far more holistic approach.

Are boys’ schools hotbeds of over-physicality and bullying?  Well, no; not in our experience. The urge to flaunt one’s masculinity is very much geared to the basic instinct of attracting females - as is seen throughout the animal kingdom. Take the trigger away, and the boys are perfectly able to concentrate their masculinity in the positive competitiveness of school life. They also have an opportunity to cultivate empathy and sensitivity for others without girls giving the impression that this is more their preserve.

Please come and visit our school and see for yourself the many reasons that choosing an all boys prep school can give your son the best possible start to their educational journey.